Diete squilibrate e risultati difficili da mantenere....

Sentiamo spesso parlare di diete a basso contenuto di carboidrati, a basso contenuto di grassi o le cosidette basse calorie/pochi carboidrati.

Queste diete sono seguite soprattutto per ridurre il peso corporeo.

Ricordiamo che sono per definizione diete squilibrate che possono essere mantenute per un breve periodo e preferibilmente sotto controllo medico.
Sappiamo infatti che una dieta a bassissimo contenuto di carboidrati e tante proteine provoca un'acidosi pronunciata ed un'alterazione consistente dei microbiota intestinale.

Queste diete hanno conquistato una certa notorietà grazie al fatto che sono spesso in grado di portare ad una rapida riduzione del peso corporeo in tempi ragionevolmente brevi.
Ma le domande che vengono spontanee sono:

1) Questa riduzione del peso viene poi mantenuta?
2) Questo temporaneo squilibro metabolico può provocare danni alla salute generale?

Una recente ricerca, presentata al congresso WCIR (World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease) sembra affermare che la riduzione di peso ottenuta da questo tipo di diete si perde con grande facilità.
La meta-analisi presentata mostrava infatti che sia le diete a basso contenuto di grassi che quelle a basso contenuto di carboidrati portavano a perdite ponderali non mantenute.

Non è certo una muona notizia per gli oltre 1,5 miliardi di persone sovrappeso o obese che cercano ogni giorno nuove soluzioni miracolose.
Probabilmente le ricerche future confermeranno come una dieta equilibrata, ricca di cereali integrali, grassi buoni, tanta frutta e verdura possa rappresentare la soluzione più efficace per il raggiungimento del peso ideale e di un buono stato di salute.
La dieta non è solo una questione di calorie o di bilanciare in vario modo i macronutrienti (carboidrati, proteine e grassi).
E' fondamentale fornire al nostro corpo nutrienti di qualità che forniscano informazioni corrette al nostro genoma.


Tweet

No time to waste against Alzheimer

There is no time to waste according to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) to fight AD.
So "NO TIME TO WASTE is the title of a specific, hard-hitting report full og recommendations on both care and cure to tackle Alzheimer's disease.


The report urges swift implementation of a national strategy plan on this growing public health crisis that threatens an increasing number of American families.

We needed a "bold but practical" approach and calls for formulating solutions within—as well as outside of—current government programs to ultimately "defeat" Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease, which results in loss of memory and other intellectual functions, currently affects more than 5.1 million Americans and is the sixth leading cause of death.

With advanced age the greatest risk factor for the disease, the incidence doubles every five years after age 65.

The Alzheimer's Foundation of America, based in New York, is a national nonprofit organization that unites more than 1,600 member organizations nationwide with the goal of providing optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families.Tweet

World Osteoporosis Day - Italy

World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on 20 October, and launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease

Italy is one of the 90 countries where activities and events are organized to rise awareness among people at risk. Many major hospitals and university medical dept. open their ambulatories for free or reduced-price consultations, tests and other forms of medical advice.

For example we can list: Ospedale Molinette di Torino

Risk factors for bone fractures linked to osteoporosis include:

• Early or surgical menopouse



• Low density bone pick due to anorexia in young age



• Cigarette smoke



• Use of Cortison drugs for at least 6 months

It is true that women are more exposed to risks of bone fractures but it is also true that severe osteoporosis is observed in men as well.

Eating well, ensuring sufficient vitamin D and staying physically active are two essential components of a healthy lifestyle. These are also the pillars of osteoporosis prevention at all stages of life

A new report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) for World Osteoporosis Day puts the spotlight on the severe impact of spinal fractures and calls on health professionals to recognize the signs of these fractures in their patients.

Vit D Fact Sheet

Calcium Fact Sheet

Calcium in pregnancy may halve the risk of pre-eclampsia

We all know that Calcium is not only important to prevent osteoporosis.
Most doctors recommend calcium during pregnancy to protect against birth complications and loss of bone density caused by the developing babies.

A new research about the importance of calcium during pregnancy is now published
in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Researchers gathered data from 21 randomized controlled trials involving 17,000 pregnant women. The studies compared whether taking supplements was any better than a placebo or no treatment at all in having a healthy pregnancy and delivery.

It seems that calcium supplements did not lower the risk of preterm birth or low birth weight but they can help prevent pre-eclampsia, (increased blood pressure) in pregnant women.
The study showed that the frequency of pre-eclampsia in women that used Ca supplements was about -50%.

Stocking up on calcium when young is essential for building strong bones. A diet which has sufficient calcium, vitamin D and phosphorus is important, as are genetic factors and exercise. The recommended calcium intake varies depending on where one is in one's life cycle.
An average recommended daily intake of 800mg is stipulated in the European nutrition-labelling directive.
However certain groups of the population have higher requirements up to 1200 - 1500mg (young people aged 11-24, pregnant and lactating women, postmenopausal women who are not having hormone replacement therapy).

Calcium content of some food 300 mg Ca are found in:
25-30 g hard cheese (emmental, parmiggiano, cheddar, etc)
50 g soft cheese (camembert, brie, etc)
200 g skimmed milk or yoghurt
150 g almonds nuts, dried figs
200 g dried beans
500 g green vegetables (cabbage, leeks, spinach, broccoli), wholemeal bread
0.7 l of certain calcium-rich mineral waters (check with the label)

Apple's apps for HCP: my opinion

A new section of Apple store dedicated to Health Care Professionals started in September.
We can find six cathegories of apps:
reference apps
educational apps
EMR & patient monitoring apps
imaging apps
point of care apps

The sixth cathegory, called personal care apps, is for consumers.
In this sections we can find many "must have" for anybody involved in health care, like PubMed On tap, and Micromedex Drug and iTriage.
I like iTriage even if it is focused on USA and many services are not working in Europe yet.
I already congratulated with the people who developed the app and I think that they are doing well in this "early stage" sector without having the investments of Google Health!
I like the Merk manual but it costs 27,99 euro.
I tested Muscle trigger points and I think that it can be useful for students and FKTR's.
Patients can benefit of iHealth BPM and Diabetes Buddy to keep on track fighting their chronic disease. Don't forget that diabetes and hypertension are the most terrible cardiovascular killers.
In the near future mobile apps for health care will be commonly used and I think that governative authorities should immediately play a central role helping developers in standardizing protocols, languages and data formats.
This will allows HCP to access patient's data everywhere and whenever is needed.
Governative authorities could also plan to use the "open data" generated by the people to promote research and population studies.

Present and Future of Probiotics

Human-Bacteria positive interactions: Present and Future of Probiotics on Prezi

Tweet

Probiotics and Longevity: New Theory

Very interesting theory tries to link probiotics use and longevity.
The article is published on the current issue of Medical Hypotheses
(Volume 77, Issue 4 , Pages 469-472, October 2011).

Authors think that Probiotics-induced increase of large intestinal luminal polyamine concentration may promote longevity
We read from the abstract that: "Many mechanisms contribute to senescence, such as telomere shortening in replicative cells, cumulative damage to DNA leading to genomic instability, and oxidative damage to molecules by reactive oxygen species (ROS). These include chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammageing), a major risk factor for ageing and age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and type II diabetes"

The authors discuss in this article the rationale and recent evidence for probiotic-induced upregulation of intestinal luminal polyamine (PA) production in the extension of lifespan by preventing inflammageing.