In the News: Diet for Healthy Aging

Consuming a healthy diet from one's 40s through the age of 70 was connected to healthy aging, a recent study found. *

The investigation included 36,464 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and 70,467 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study.

Responses to questionnaires completed every four years were analyzed for adherence to eight healthy dietary patterns:

• Alternative healthy eating index,
• Alternative Mediterranean diet,
• Dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH),
• Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay diet (MIND),
• Healthful plant-based diet,
• Planetary health diet,
• Empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia, and
• The empirical dietary inflammatory pattern.

During 30 years of follow-up, 9,837 participants achieved healthy aging. "The people who had healthier eating patterns had a 43% to 84% greater chance of aging well compared with those who did not," the authors stated.

Editor's Note: "Overall, the more fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats, nuts, low-fat dairy and whole grains people ate, the better they were in terms of aging. Participants with diets made mostly of transfats, sodium, as well as red and processed meats, had lower odds of healthy aging," the study's authors concluded.

*J.CDNut.10.1016 2024.102176

Athletes Benefit from Vitamin D Supplementation

A systematic review concluded that there are several benefits from supplementing with vitamin D for elite male and female athletes.*

Researchers evaluated data from 14 randomized trials that examined the effects of vitamin D3 capsules or drops among 482 athletes. Vitamin D doses ranged from 2,000 IU to around 7,100 IU per day, with an average daily dose of around 5,000 IU/day, administered for at least two weeks.

Of three studies that evaluated aerobic capacity, two found improvements in maximal oxygen uptake and physical working capacity in association with vitamin D.

Five of the seven studies that evaluated anaerobic power and strength resulted in vitamin D-associated improvements.

Among four studies that evaluated bone health, one demonstrated increased bone mineral density in association with vitamin D compared with the control group.

Editor's Note: "Deficiency in vitamin D has been shown to increase the risk of injury," the researchers stated.

* Orthop J Sports Med. 2024 Jan 3;12(1):23259671231220371.

Ginkgo Benefits Stroke Patients

Acute ischemic stroke patients who received ginkgo in addition to conventional treatment showed improved cognitive function, a clinical trial found.*

Of the 126 participants, 63 received 25 mg ginkgo daily for two weeks in addition to conventional care while the other patients received conventional care alone. Inflammatory and blood coagulation factors were measured before, and two weeks after the treatment period. Cognitive function tests were administered prior to the trial and at three and six months after the trial's conclusion.

In both groups, cognitive and neurological functions were assessed at baseline, day 14 and after three months of treatment. Neurological functions’ deficits assessed by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores improved after 14 days and continued to show improvement after three months in the ginkgo group as compared to placebo.

Activities of daily living scores in the treatment group improved at day 14 and for three months after treatment compared to placebo.

Editor's Note: In addition, before treatment inflammatory and coagulation factors were similar in both groups of participants, but after 14 days they were lower among treated patients than the controls.

* Open Med (Wars). 2024 Mar 13;19(1):20240908.

Cranberry Extract Supports a Healthy Microbiome

An increase in probiotics within the genus Bifidobacterium and other beneficial microbial changes were found in people who supplemented short-term with cranberry extract, according to a recent study.* Cranberry is rich in various polyphenol compounds, including anthocyanins and flavonols.

The study included 28 men and women who were asked to refrain from foods that contained cranberry falvonols for a week. They were subsequently assigned to four days during which they consumed cranberry extract capsules twice per day. Stool samples were collected before and after the treatment period.

At the time of the study’s conclusion, Bifidobacteria and butyrate-producing bacteria in stool samples were increased compared with samples obtained prior to the administration of cranberry extract.

Editor's Note: Improvement in the composition of the gut microbiome can help protect against unfavorable effects of a Western diet, the authors stated.

* NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2024 Mar 6;10(1):18.