Will Inflammation Testing Save Lives?

This Year’s TEDMED Takes On Important Health Questions

This month in Washington D.C., the greatest minds in health and medicine came together to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world. It was none other than the annual TEDMED conference that brought them to the Kennedy Center on April 10-13. If this gathering of visionaries sounds familiar, it’s because it was inspired by the original TED, the popular gathering of forward-thinkers in the world of technology, entertainment, and design. True to its legacy, this med-leaning evolution of TED broke new ground in the field of medical research and innovation.

At this year’s event, the world’s big thinkers shared cutting edge ideas that may affect all of us in the coming years. For three absorbing days, attendees tried on aging suits, saw artificial hearts, had discussions about the role of nutrition in cancer treatment, and saw presentations about everything from stress to sleep. But what’s most exciting about this gathering of minds is that some of the information presented at TEDMED may some day solve problems for the average person, and in many cases, save lives. One such idea is helping to identify the risk of heart disease, the leading killer in the U.S., by looking closely at inflammation.

Testing the Risk for Heart Disease

One unavoidable takeaway at TEDMED, according to some attendees, was the difficulties faced by the American medical system. But at the same time, innovations that can have a positive impact on the future of medicine were present in abundance. One example was the presentation by the Cleveland HeartLab (CHL) which addressed a major health challenge head-on by showing how they could track the risk of heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease continues to confound our population – often, those who are at risk know only when a major heart event takes them by surprise. In fact, approximately 50% of patients who have a heart attack or stroke have normal levels of cholesterol, according to CHL, and cholesterol levels have been one of the most reliable indicators for such events. However, CHL maintains that it is the degree of inflammation in one’s arteries that is the better predictor, which is why they took their inflammation testing, or “it” on the road at TEDMED. They offered inflammatory testing to any TEDMED delegate who wanted it, and many took advantage of the screening.

The participants who took part in this voluntary inflammation testing were educated about how  “it” can improve assessment of their cardiovascular health. “It” goes beyond traditional blood tests and provides an inflammation panel (the “it” test screened not only for C-reactive protein but for myeloperoxidase and lipid levels) that determines the degree that someone is at risk of a cardiovascular event, according to CHL. The results? Approximately 40% of the 335 TEDMED delegates had elevated cardiovascular disease risk with 10% having a risk for vascular thrombosis.

The Inflammation Problem 

Inflammation has repercussions that extend to many diseases, and heart disease is one. For many of us, the idea of inflammation brings to mind redness, swelling or infection as a result of injury to the skin or the surface of the body. But the lower grade, chronic inflammation that occurs inside the body is both dangerous and silent, and is linked to diseases of aging like cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and arthritis.

According to WBA Nutrition Advisor and Spokesperson, Susan Davis, MS, RD, inflammation damages nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims and contributes to the proliferation of abnormal cells and facilitates their transformation into cancer without showing any symptoms at all. “Protection from inflammation by compounds in the diet is very complex and not well understood,” said Davis. “Some of the mechanisms that have been identified include interfering with the development of inflammatory compounds at the genetic level.” Diet has shown exciting potential as well. Studies into blueberries for example, have shown that the compounds may have an effect on deterring inflammation in the body. They contain flavonoids such as anthocyanins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins that have been shown to contribute to protective, anti-inflammatory effects.

Dietary Keys to Anti-Inflammation

Today, we know that the typical western diet, high in refined carbohydrates, fats, sugars and calories contributes to inflammation. But a diet higher in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and omega 3 fatty acids is anti-inflammatory, and vitamins, minerals, as well as plant compounds have both antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Simple steps to create an “anti-inflammatory” diet can help make major gains in health and longevity. Here’s how:

Through Variety. Eat a wide variety of foods, and eat across the color spectrum. When you include deeply colored fruits and vegetables, you are getting the benefits of antioxidants that combat inflammation – they are present in the skins of blueberries, leafy greens, and other colorful foods.

By Eating Fresh and Fresh-Frozen. Eat plenty of real, fresh food or foods frozen at their peak. The key to avoiding processed foods is to turn to the produce aisle, or equally as nutritious, the freezer section of the grocery store where fruits and vegetables have all the advantages of those at the farmer’s market.

By Filling Your Plate with Fruits and Vegetables. Eat them with every meal, and get the recommended servings. They are your best defense against disease and the effects of aging.

Learn more by watching the video from Susan Davis about the Anti-Inflammation Diet.

What are the 20 Greatest Challenges Facing Health and Medicine Today? 

According to TEDMED, the mission of the Great Challenges Program is not to “solve” America’s most confounding health and wellness problems but to provide “a comprehensive view, incorporating thoughtful perspectives from every discipline and from all sectors of society.” They have identified the most pressing issues facing today’s medical community, and they include Causes of Sleep Deprivation, Preparing for Dementia, and Eliminating Medical Errors, just to name a few. Want to know what the others are? Find out at TEDMED Challenges.

Interested in testing for inflammation? Learn more about “it”.

Three Keys to Anti-aging You Should Know About

How Nutrition Can Unlock the Door to Age-Related Disease Prevention

The more we know about the aging-nutrition connection, the more theory becomes immutable fact: “Dietary choices are critical to delaying the onset of aging and age-related diseases, and the sooner you start, the greater the benefit,” says Susan Moores, RD, of the American Dietetic Association. Not only is nutrition our secret weapon when it comes aging, the opposite is also true – what we eat can cause aging. So, if you are still searching for the fountain of youth, stop the exploring and start eating, because the jury is in: we can use food to speed aging, or to slow it. The choice is on your plate.

In fact, some experts assert that the disease and deterioration that we often consider the natural process of aging is not natural at all, and is, in fact, completely preventable. While aging may not be entirely preventable through nutrition – there are other environmental or biological factors at work – nutrition is clearly a major key to the prevention of the signs of aging and age-related disease.

How does this magical fountain of youth operate? Nutrition works at a cellular level, where the aging process originates. Deep in the cells of our bodies three factors are at work – they overlap and interact with each other, but they are all at the core of preventing – or hastening – the aging process.

The Anti-aging Keys

1. Inflammation

Anti-aging is synonymous with anti-inflammation. Chronic inflammation at the cellular level is at the heart of many degenerative age-related diseases, and controlling it could be the key to delaying the aging process.

Inflammation is an immune reaction on the cellular level. It is our body’s natural defense – the result of a reaction to environmental toxins, irritation, and infection. In a sort of biological conundrum, inflammation protects our bodies and deteriorates it as well. It is the root cause of many chronic and common diseases of aging, such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The good news is that researchers have found that diet has a significant effect on inflammation. It can minimize inflammation and as a result, delay the aging process. Colorful fruits and vegetables, omega-3 and low glycemic foods, for instance, have been named as part of an anti-inflammation diet. Some diets can cause inflammation, too, essentially producing an immune system that is out of control and putting aging in high gear. We could call it the Aging Diet – one characterized by high-carb, low-protein foods, refined sugar and polyunsaturated fats.

2. Oxidation

Inflammation is caused by free radical damage, and the well-known evils of free radicals are due to oxidation. Simply stated, oxidation occurs when the body produces by-products, referred to as oxygen free radicals. The result is a kind of rusting of the body, and when this rusting is applied to humans and not iron, it results in aging and diseases such a cancer. Free radicals are produced inside our bodies, and occur as a result of food, environmental pollutions and everyday things like air, water and sun. As we age, we become more susceptible to the long-term effects of oxidative stress (or too many free radicals) and inflammation on the cellular level. As E.R. Stadtman, a NIH researcher explains, “Aging is a disease. The human life span simply reflects the level of free radical oxidative damage that accumulates in cells. When enough damage accumulates, cells can’t survive properly anymore and they just give up.”

How do we defeat the aging evil of oxidative stress? That’s where antioxidants (think anti-oxidation) come in. The antioxidants eliminate the damage that free radicals cause in our bodies. Some foods are high in antioxidant content and some contain powerful substances called phytonutrients that some believe are capable of unlocking the key to longevity. Phytonutrients are members of the antioxidant family, and are responsible for ridding the body of free radicals, and as a result, slowing the rusting, or the aging, process. That’s one of the reasons that a diet of high antioxidant foods is your first defense against aging.

3. Blood Flow

Blood flow is key #3, and is affected by inflammation and oxidation. Blood vessels are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress and inflammation, and keeping them healthy cannot be understated when it comes to preventing age-related disease. Blood flow to the heart protects the heart muscle from damage, and prevents restricted blood vessels, which helps the brain, and every organ in the body.

Low blood flow is a major factor in aging; its relationship to aging and its diseases are permanently intertwined. Enter nutrition to change the equation. According to Steve Pratt, author of Superfoods Rx, some foods lower inflammatory markers, cause basal dilation and lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. They work on the capillary level to keep microcirculation working well, and that affects the heart, the brain and eyes and prevents the diseases of aging that attacks them.

Anti-aging Targets: Brain, Heart & Eyes

Maintaining our brain, heart, and eyes top the list for those concerned about preserving health and youthfulness as they age. If these things are healthy, chances are, you’re healthy, too. Perhaps it’s not surprising that usually, these three body parts work in tandem and are subject to the same forces – inflammation, oxidation and blood flow.

Brain. Isolating Alzheimer’s disease is one step toward achieving the ideal: anti-aging. If we can preserve brain function, along with body function, we can delay the aging process.

Researchers have discovered that one of the risk factors of deteriorating brain function appears to be how the body handles glucose. Studies of the genetic code of those with Alzheimer’s disease appear to suggest it is connected to cholesterol metabolism. Also, high antioxidant foods possess anti-inflammatory benefit to the brain, which researchers have found increases cell signaling pathways. We know nutrients are a contributor in combating oxidative stress, and oxidative stress is a major cause of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Heart. Thanks again to the anti-inflammatory effect of some foods, good nutrition can have a major impact on aging by preserving the function of one of our most important organs, the heart. By decreasing inflammation in the arteries surrounding the heart, we can keep the heart functioning longer and better. Nutrients in some foods that are high in antioxidants protect the heart muscle from damage by acting as anti-inflammatory agents. Nutrition reduces cholesterol levels and by reducing build-up, which helps prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke. And, many studies into the compounds of fruits like wild blueberries indicate supplements can help regulate blood pressure and combat atherosclerosis.

Vision. According to an interesting new study, anthocyanins from blueberries may protect critical eye tissue from premature aging and light-induced damage. The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, indicates that cells treated with blueberry extract improved the viability of cells exposed to light which experienced premature aging.  The conclusion of the author of the study was that “blueberries, or other kinds of fruits that are rich in anthocyanins, have the potential to prevent age-related macular degeneration and other retinal diseases related to RPE cells.”

Such examples of the vision-nutrition connection is part of a major boon in research into the benefits of dietary prevention when it comes to aging and diseases of aging. Researchers continue to find links between nutrition and healthy eyes. Studies indicate the vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables slow the progress of age-related vision loss, and while the exact nutrients and in what combinations is still unknown, researchers have concluded that the big three keys – anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation and blood flow, are at the heart of maintaining vision. Because some foods with anthocyanins, for instance, work on the capillary level to keep microcirculation working well, that has a positive affect on eyes, tired eyes, and vision diseases that occur with age.

Open the door to anti-aging. Still exploring, Ponce de Leon? Try exploring your kitchen instead. When you use nutrition to decrease inflammation, decrease oxidation, and enhance your blood flow, the aging brain, heart, and eyes will have a new lease on long, disease-free life.

Read about how foods can accelerate the aging process.

Watch the video from The Canadian called Anti-Aging linked to Blueberries and Salmon.

Read about the research into the benefits of wild blueberries, a top anti-aging food.

Pawl-ee-FEE-nol: Today’s Nutritional Buzzword?

Just twenty years ago we would have been hard pressed to find information about the little substance called the polyphenol, even in the most arcane scientific literature. Now, thanks to chemical research and nutritional science, polyphenols are turning up everywhere. What accounts for polyphenols going mainstream? Many things. But one interesting thing is your skin.

Sunscreen for Your Insides

“We know that a third of skin-related nutrition relates to polyphenols,” Superfood doc Steven Pratt told the Wild Blueberry Health News last fall. “If you want to have healthy skin, you better eat blueberries. They play a bigger role in keeping skin wrinkle-free than any other food group.”

Dr. Pratt was referring to research that indicates that polyphenols play a major role in keeping the skin healthy. While piling on the sunscreen has been de rigueur since people began to understand the dangers of sun exposure, both for good health and for wrinkle prevention, Dr. Pratt suggests putting sunscreen on from inside out, with polyphenols. Polyphenols, found in foods like berries, appear to inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators, protecting the skin from wrinkles and from the signs of aging.

What’s the connection? Chronic inflammation at the cellular level is at the heart of many degenerative age-related diseases. In studies of rats fed polyphenols-rich blueberries, the concentration of several substances in the brain that can trigger an inflammatory response was significantly reduced. Polyphenols appeared to inhibit the production of these inflammatory mediators. That’s important for many health-related reasons, including maintaining healthy, youthful skin. You can read the research here.


Put Polyphenols in Your Life

In addition to serving as an internal sunscreen, polyphenols, because of their antioxidant properties, may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. In fact, polyphenols as regulators of carbon cycling have even been of interest to researchers for how they might affect global warming.

Berries are one of the major players in the role of polyphenols, hence Dr. Pratt’s reference to blueberries as a great source. High levels of polyphenols can generally be found in fruit skins, which is why the deep blue skin of blueberries, and the high skin-to-pulp ratio of wild blueberries in particular, puts this fruit at the top of the list. Other sources of polyphenols include tea, grapes, chocolate, and many fruits and vegetables.

The idea that we can protect our skin from within as well as from without should be considered groundbreaking for a society preoccupied with youth (Hands, please!). Health always works from the inside out, after all. Now that summer’s around the corner, you can pack in the polyphenols when you think of slapping on the sunscreen, knowing you are doing something truly beneficial for your skin.

Nature’s Blueprint for Healthy Eating: Smart Birds Choose Smart Berries

According to a recent study about the eating habits of migratory birds, birds take in huge amounts of antioxidants by loading up on certain high-color, high-antioxidant berries before migration – up to triple their body weight in berries per day, or the equivalent to a human swallowing over 300 pounds!

This University of Rhode Island study found that birds seek out dark pigment berries, and tend to favor those with the highest antioxidant count. According to the leader of the study, the berries’ antioxidants may help the birds combat stress and inflammation that they experience during long flights. That birds turn to berries to help them accomplish the trips of their lifetimes provides fascinating evidence into the natural benefits of antioxidant-rich berries, and might tell us a lot about our own eating habits.

Our long flight, of course, occurs closer to the ground, and over the course of 80 or so years. Antioxidants, which occur in the dark purple and blue pigments of berries like blueberries (wild blueberries have highest antioxidant content of twenty other common fruits) help mitigate the effect of free radicals which create a destructive process in our cells. Resulting oxidative damage plays a huge role in many of our modern-day diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and diseases of aging.

Are you attracted to bright blues? Do you eat from the rainbow? When it comes to good health and longevity, we might benefit from thinking like a bird when planning our next meal. This study provides more evidence that color is truly the key to spreading our wings and making that great flight we call our life as healthy as possible!

Your Genes Are Not Your Destiny

Next to blaming our mothers, blaming our genes might be the most popular method of understanding how we as individuals navigate the world. But in a new book, The Genius In All of Us by David Shenk, the author addresses the role “practice” plays in what we refer to as “talent”. He rejects the notion that genes play the most significant role in how and if talents manifest – whether that talent is for writing sonatas or pitching fast balls.

In her review of the book in The New York Times, Annie Murphy Paul wrote, “It’s ambitious indeed to try to overthrow in one go the conventional ideas and images that have accumulated since 1874, when Francis Galton first set the words ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ against each other.” As Paul suggests, attributing our body shape, our success in business and baseball, or our susceptibility to disease to something other than genetic destiny is like moving a cultural mountain.

In her review, Paul refers to the emerging field of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of how genes are activated and deactivated by stimuli like hormones, the environment, and nutrition, and is based on beliefs that run counter to the idea that genes simply serve as a blueprint for our lives. In fact, we are only just learning how the study of genes and genetic expression can be applied. For instance, another emerging field that studies the effects of food, specifically, on gene expression is nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomics researchers believe that eventually a diet tailor-made for an individual can activate the switches that turn genes on and off, providing personalized nutrition based on genotype. By turning genes on or off, the individual can take advantage of the genes they want and leave those they don’t (like those that cause cancer or high blood pressure) dormant. More than just providing us with a one-of-a-kind piece of abstract art for our living room, mapping our genome can have more important applications.

Express Yourself – Genetically

Even before nutrigenomics was widely acknowledged area of science, Dr. Steven Pratt, the doc behind the famed superfoods, initially created his list of foods with these principles of nutrigenomics in mind.

“If you look at your body, you have all these genes that are ready to be expressed and that starts to create proteins and enzymes,” Pratt told Wild Blueberry Health News this past fall. “So, berries promote the expression of good genes and suppress the expression of bad genes in our body. We all have some good genes and we all have some bad ones – berries are great regulators of gene expression,” he said of wild blueberries, his superfoods list topper. Pratt said such gene activation doesn’t require unwieldy amounts of food in order to get the active or counteractive benefits. Ordinary amounts of these foods will suffice in providing the nutritional bang we need.

We can’t yet map our genome and spit out our perfect anti-aging, disease prevention diet at our family physician’s office to suppress the genes we don’t want from switching on. But the good news is we already know, for example, that if you have the genes for high blood pressure and inflammatory markers (either you have high blood pressure or your relatives do), you can take steps to decrease inflammation, decrease blood pressure and decrease c reactive protein by eating foods that are anti-inflammatory, like berries. And, when you lower inflammatory markers, you cut down your risk for most diseases.

The Bottom Line

While understanding “how” is still an emerging science, the “what” is clear: food can control your genes. If that seems like a bold statement, it may prove Paul right: understanding that genes do not dictate our bodies, our health, and our talents goes against all we have learned. But freeing ourselves from the albatross of genetics could be one of the biggest ideas of modern science.

You can read more about nutrigenomics at The Center of Excellence for Nutritional Genomics website.