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Salt Substitution Link With Lower Risk of Dying Early

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Salt Substitution Link With Lower Risk of Dying Early

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This article about health conditions related to food from News 8 Now describes that using a salt substitute when cooking may improve cardiovascular outcomes when used for up to ten years. A study was done with participants who were around 64 years old and had a higher than average risk for cardiovascular disease, and the results also revealed that there was also a reduction of sodium found in urine and blood pressure. The salt substitute research is somewhat new, so the article suggests that the best way to proceed with this information is to just lower the amount of salt you are eating in general. This pertains to teaching health because we could teach our students about how too much salt in your diet can negatively affect your heart.

Rogers, K. (2024, April 9). Salt substitution linked with lower risk for dying early, study finds. News8000.com. https://www.news8000.com/lifestyle/health/salt-substitution-linked-with-lower-risk-for-dying-early-study-finds/article_e102cb4b-6426-5f6b-a25d-01630e860f7c.html

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Sign up for CNN's Eat, But Better: Mediterranean Style. Our eight-part guide shows you a delicious expert-backed eating lifestyle that will boost your health for life.

Using less salt in your food may seem boring, but the payoffs could be as big as a lowered risk of death, new research has found.

Using a salt substitute when cooking was linked with a lower risk of dying early from any cause or from cardiovascular disease in a new study published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

"We are excited to be able to provide evidence that salt substitutions are effective for improving cardiovascular outcomes when used long-term, up to 10 years," said the study's senior author Dr. Loai Albarqouni, an assistant professor at the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare at Bond University in Australia. "Previous synthesis tended to focus on short-term outcomes, lasting only two weeks."

The study is a systematic review of 16 randomized controlled trials that were published before August 23, 2023, and totaled 35,251 participants who were around age 64 on average and had a higher-than-average risk for cardiovascular disease. The trials were mainly in China, with the rest in the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Peru, the Netherlands and Norway.

With two-thirds of the findings coming from China, the authors "were surprised at how little salt substitution research has been conducted outside Asian countries," Albarqouni said. "This is partially why we have graded the evidence as 'low to very low certainty' for Western populations - there simply isn't enough evidence to verify that salt substitutes would be as effective in the Western context."

Salt substitution was also linked with a reduction in sodium in urine, and in blood pressure, an effect similar to that of blood pressure medications, the authors found. That could explain the lowered risk of death, Albarqouni said.

The authors acknowledged that in the trials, some of the salt substitutes were not verified and some were purchased by the participants instead of given to them by researchers.

The trials compared the use of common salt - made of about 100% sodium chloride, occasionally with added iodine - with using a salt substitute comprised of 25% to 30% potassium chloride and 60% to 75% sodium chloride.

Another reason why applying the findings to a Western context is difficult is that salt consumption patterns in North America are "driven by processed and takeaway food, while consumption in the research context is more driven by the high amount of salt added during home food preparation," Albarqouni said.

"This is not the strongest study to base a lot of conclusions on at this point," said Dr. Andrew Freeman, a preventative cardiologist and director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. "But it adds to the body of evidence and the signal in the noise that getting rid of sodium salt in your diet is a big plus and getting potassium in your diet is better,"

And "while we know potassium is beneficial, salt is salt," Freeman, who wasn't involved in the study, added. "If it's sodium chloride or potassium chloride or magnesium chloride, it's all salt. And the best way to get potassium in your body is to eat fruits and vegetables - that's where potassium is most plentiful."

Lowering your salt intake

The American Heart Association's ideal daily sodium limit is 1,500 milligrams per day for most adults, especially those with high blood pressure, and no more than 2,300 milligrams daily.

"If the majority of your food intake is coming from packaged or restaurant food, chances are your sodium intake is too high," Albarqouni said via email. "There are a few physical signs you may be eating too much sodium, like bloating or swelling, tiredness, high blood pressure, increased thirst and/or urination."

If you're concerned about your intake, you can seek medical or nutrition advice from a professional, Albarqouni added.

When buying packaged food, check the sodium content on labels. Some foods can contain more sodium than you think, such as poultry or cereals, Freeman said. One standard-size pickle typically has around 1,500 milligrams of salt, he added.

Besides lowering salt consumption by simply eliminating salt in your home cooking, you can also try purchasing salt substitutes with a composition like the ones used in the study or using salt-free seasonings to add more flavor to food instead, experts said.

The authors acknowledged that more research is needed to confirm whether salt substitution of the study's kind is safe for patients "sensitive to micronutrient manipulation," including those sensitive to potassium - such as people with renal deficiency, they said.

Food with less salt may taste boring at first, but your tastebuds can adjust within just a couple of weeks, Freeman said, so give yourself time to adjust.

"It's also important to remember that reducing sodium intake is just one way to reduce cardiovascular risk without medication," Albarqouni said. "Things like diet changes, stopping smoking and increasing movement can also have an impact. Salt substitutes are not a holy grail to eliminating cardiovascular disease, but are one piece of the puzzle that can help."

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Salt substitution linked with lower risk for dying early, study finds | CNN

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Using a salt substitute is linked with a lower risk of early death from any cause or from cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

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This article about foods containing plastic from CNN News opens with a joke about how much plastic will you have for dinner? Although it opens with a joke, the article then states that 90% of animal and plant protein tested positive for microplastics. It says if small enough, the plants and vegetables can also absorb the microplastics through their root system. Along with fruits, vegetables, and animal protein, the article says that coarse Himalayan pink salt mined from the ground had the most microplastic found in it. This is an interesting thing to teach students, just for them to be aware of, even though there isn't much they could do to change the microplastic found in their food.

LaMotte, S. (2024b, April 22). Which foods have the most plastics? you may be surprised. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/health/plastics-food-wellness-scn/index.html

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Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised | CNN

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How much plastic is in the food you eat? Much more than you realize, experts say.

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A healthy diet could increase your life span

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A healthy diet could increase your life span

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This article about the benefits of a healthy diet could potentially make up for genetic health conditions. The article discusses a study conducted on over 350,000 people, and in the study, people who ate unhealthy were 78% more likely to die early regardless of their genetics. The study also said that those with a genetic risk and ate unhealthy were twice as likely to die early. The data in the study revealed that people with a genetic risk are able to increase their life span by about 5 years if they eat healthier. I think that teaching students how to eat balanced meals could increase knowledge of proper eating habits from a young age.

Holcombe, M. (2024, April 29). A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%, study suggests. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/health/genetic-risk-early-death-lifestyle-wellness/index.html

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A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%, study suggests | CNN

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Genetics play a big part in a person’s lifespan — but you aren’t helpless to what’s in your DNA. A new study shows how your lifestyle can make a difference.

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Decaf coffee linked with containing a carcinogen 

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Decaf coffee linked with containing a carcinogen 

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The US Food and Drug Administration is trying to ban a chemical in the process of creating decaf coffee in this article found on CNN News. The chemical found in it is methylene chloride, which is something that is found paint stripping as well. The chemical has been known to contain carcinogens which cause cancer. This is something that can be taught to students because people are starting to drink coffee at a younger age now, so knowing this could prevent them from being exposed to this harmful chemical.

Rogers, K. (2024b, April 17). Could Decaf Coffee cause cancer? experts weigh in. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/04/health/decaf-coffee-methylene-chloride-cancer-wellness/index.html

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Could decaf coffee cause cancer? Experts weigh in | CNN

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Health groups want the FDA to ban a key chemical used to decaffeinate coffee due to cancer concerns. Here's what you should know about whether decaf coffee is safe.

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Gluten-free brand reported to contain gluten

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Gluten-free brand reported to contain gluten

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6ABC reported that Feel Good Foods that this gluten-free brand recalled their gluten- free bagels for containing gluten. This occurred after receiving a report of a reaction to gluten after eating one of their bagels. The specific types included in this recall are the plain and the everything flavored cream cheese stuffed bagels. This is important to keep students who may have food intolerances up to date on things like this to keep them from buying something that could give them a reaction.

Feel good foods voluntarily recalls gluten-free bagels due to cross-contamination. 6abc Philadelphia. (2024, April 16). https://6abc.com/feel-good-foods-voluntarily-recalls-gluten-free-bagels/14675827/

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A brand of gluten-free mini bagels is being recalled because they may contain gluten. Feel Good Foods has issued a nationwide voluntary recall because of cross-contamination.

The company received one consumer report of an adverse reaction to gluten.

The affected products include gluten-free plain, and 'everything flavored' cream cheese-stuffed mini bagels.

According to the FDA, both products have best-by dates from May 29th, 2024 to September 17th, 2025 that are listed on the boxes.

For more information about the recall, visit this page at FDA.gov

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feel good foods voluntarily recalls gluten-free bagels

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Feel Good Foods voluntarily recalls gluten-free bagels due to cross-contamination

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A brand of gluten-free mini bagels has been recalled because the products may contain gluten.

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Sugary drinks from a young age linked with obesity as adults

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Sugary drinks from a young age linked with obesity as adults

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ScienceDaily's article on giving children sugary drinks instead of fruit juice could potentially put them at risk for obesity as an adult. The study conducted, linked children who grew up drinking soda and sweetened fruit juices to gain more weight by the time they turned 24 than the ones who drank unsweetened fruit juice. The study said those who drank pure fruit juice ate more whole foods, fruits, adn vegetables as adults, but those who drank soda ate more pizza, chocolate, french fries, chocolate, and sweets. This is important because this study followed along with these children from when they were newborns until in their twenties, and showed the effects of giving children sugary beverages turning into a lifetime of making poor nutrition choices. This is why teaching our students about proper nutrition can keep them away from years of nutritional struggles.

ScienceDaily. (2024, April 12). Choosing sugary drinks over fruit juice for toddlers linked to risk of adult obesity. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240412113113.htm

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from research organizations

Date:

Source:

Swansea University

Summary:

Consuming sugar-sweetened drinks in the first few years of childhood can be linked to poor diet patterns that increase the risk of obesity in later life, according to a new study.

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Consuming sugar-sweetened drinks in the first few years of childhood can be linked to poor diet patterns that increase the risk of obesity in later life, according to a new study by the School of Psychology at Swansea University.

Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study tracked the influence of diet on 14,000 British children from birth to adulthood and is believed to be the longest of its kind ever reported.

Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, the research team found:

Children who drank fizzy drinks such as cola or sugar-sweetened fruit cordials before the age of two gained more weight when they were 24 years old. Girls who had pure fruit juice gained less weight, while the weight of boys remained the same.

At three years of age, toddlers who drank cola consumed more calories, fat, protein, and sugar but less fibre. In contrast, those given pure apple juice consumed less fat and sugar but higher amounts of fibre.

The study also highlighted corresponding differences in food choices. Children who consumed pure apple juice often followed a diet with more fish, fruit, green vegetables, and salad, whereas those drinking cola ate more burgers, sausages, pizza, french fries, meat, chocolate, and sweets.

Additionally, the team discovered a link between sugar-sweetened drinks and social deprivation, with children from affluent backgrounds more likely to have access to pure fruit juice.

Lead researcher Professor David Benton said: "The early diet establishes a food pattern that influences, throughout life, whether weight increases. The important challenge is to ensure that a child develops a good dietary habit: one that offers less fat and sugar, although pure fruit juice, one of your five a day, adds vitamin C, potassium, folate, and plant polyphenols."

Dr Hayley Young added: "Obesity is a serious health concern, one that increases the risk of many other conditions. Our study shows thatthe dietary causes of adult obesity begin in early childhood and that if we are to control it, more attention needs to be given to our diet in the first years of life."

Journal Reference:

David Benton, Hayley A. Young. Early exposure to sugar sweetened beverages or fruit juice differentially influences adult adiposity. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41430-024-01430-y

Cite This Page:

Swansea University. "Choosing sugary drinks over fruit juice for toddlers linked to risk of adult obesity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 April 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240412113113.htm>.

Swansea University. (2024, April 12). Choosing sugary drinks over fruit juice for toddlers linked to risk of adult obesity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 30, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240412113113.htm

Swansea University. "Choosing sugary drinks over fruit juice for toddlers linked to risk of adult obesity." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240412113113.htm (accessed April 30, 2024).

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diet and weight loss; nutrition; obesity; children's health; food; food and agriculture; trees; mice

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Choosing sugary drinks over fruit juice for toddlers linked to risk of adult obesity

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Consuming sugar-sweetened drinks in the first few years of childhood can be linked to poor diet patterns that increase the risk of obesity in later life, according to a new study.

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Ketogenic Diet Improves Severe Mental Illness

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Ketogenic Diet Improves Severe Mental Illness

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This article about the Ketogenic diet improving severe mental illnesses was published by ScienceDaily. The article says that many individuals who are taking medications to improve their mental health are often faced with side effects that regulate their brain chemistry and also causes metabolic side effects. Stanford medical experts have found that the Ketogenic diet has restored their metabolic health, and also helps with their psychiatric conditions. Teaching this could allow students to better their mental health with only a change to their diet, instead of taking medication which could cause harmful side effects.

ScienceDaily. (2024a, April 1). Pilot study shows ketogenic diet improves severe mental illness. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240401142459.htm

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For people living with serious mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, standard treatment with antipsychotic medications can be a double-edged sword. While these drugs help regulate brain chemistry, they often cause metabolic side effects such as insulin resistance and obesity, which are distressing enough that many patients stop taking the medications.

Now, a pilot study led by Stanford Medicine researchers has found that a ketogenic diet not only restores metabolic health in these patients as they continue their medications, but it further improves their psychiatric conditions. The results, published March 27 in Psychiatry Research, suggest that a dietary intervention can be a powerful aid in treating mental illness.

"It's very promising and very encouraging that you can take back control of your illness in some way, aside from the usual standard of care," said Shebani Sethi, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the first author of the new paper.

The senior author of the paper is Laura Saslow, PhD, associate professor of health behavior and biological sciences at the University of Michigan.
Making the connection
Sethi, who is board certified in obesity and psychiatry, remembers when she first noticed the connection. As a medical student working in an obesity clinic, she saw a patient with treatment-resistant schizophrenia whose auditory hallucinations quieted on a ketogenic diet.

That prompted her to dig into the medical literature. There were only a few, decades-old case reports on using the ketogenic diet to treat schizophrenia, but there was a long track record of success in using ketogenic diets to treat epileptic seizures.

"The ketogenic diet has been proven to be effective for treatment-resistant epileptic seizures by reducing the excitability of neurons in the brain," Sethi said. "We thought it would be worth exploring this treatment in psychiatric conditions."

A few years later, Sethi coined the term metabolic psychiatry, a new field that approaches mental health from an energy conversion perspective.
Meat and vegetables
In the four-month pilot trial, Sethi's team followed 21 adult participants who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, taking antipsychotic medications, and had a metabolic abnormality -- such as weight gain, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidemia or impaired glucose tolerance. The participants were instructed to follow a ketogenic diet, with approximately 10% of the calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 60% from fat. They were not told to count calories.

"The focus of eating is on whole non-processed foods including protein and non-starchy vegetables, and not restricting fats," said Sethi, who shared keto-friendly meal ideas with the participants. They were also given keto cookbooks and access to a health coach.

The research team tracked how well the participants followed the diet through weekly measures of blood ketone levels. (Ketones are acids produced when the body breaks down fat -- instead of glucose -- for energy.) By the end of the trial, 14 patients had been fully adherent, six were semi-adherent and only one was non-adherent.
Feeling better
The participants underwent a variety of psychiatric and metabolic assessments throughout the trial.

Before the trial, 29% of the participants met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, defined as having at least three of five conditions: abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and elevated fasting glucose levels. After four months on a ketogenic diet, none of the participants had metabolic syndrome.

On average, the participants lost 10% of their body weight; reduced their waist circumference by 11% percent; and had lower blood pressure, body mass index, triglycerides, blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.

"We're seeing huge changes," Sethi said. "Even if you're on antipsychotic drugs, we can still reverse the obesity, the metabolic syndrome, the insulin resistance. I think that's very encouraging for patients."

The psychiatric benefits were also striking. On average, the participants improved 31% on a psychiatrist rating of mental illness known as the clinical global impressions scale, with three-quarters of the group showing clinically meaningful improvement. Overall, the participants also reported better sleep and greater life satisfaction.

"The participants reported improvements in their energy, sleep, mood and quality of life," Sethi said. "They feel healthier and more hopeful."

The researchers were impressed that most of the participants stuck with the diet. "We saw more benefit with the adherent group compared with the semi-adherent group, indicating a potential dose-response relationship," Sethi said.
Alternative fuel for the brain
There is increasing evidence that psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder stem from metabolic deficits in the brain, which affect the excitability of neurons, Sethi said.

The researchers hypothesize that just as a ketogenic diet improves the rest of the body's metabolism, it also improves the brain's metabolism.

"Anything that improves metabolic health in general is probably going to improve brain health anyway," Sethi said. "But the ketogenic diet can provide ketones as an alternative fuel to glucose for a brain with energy dysfunction."

Likely there are multiple mechanisms at work, she added, and the main purpose of the small pilot trial is to help researchers detect signals that will guide the design of larger, more robust studies.

As a physician, Sethi cares for many patients with both serious mental illness and obesity or metabolic syndrome, but few studies have focused on this undertreated population.

She is founder and director of the metabolic psychiatry clinic at Stanford Medicine.

"Many of my patients suffer from both illnesses, so my desire was to see if metabolic interventions could help them," she said. "They are seeking more help. They are looking to just feel better."

Researchers from the University of Michigan; the University of California, San Francisco; and Duke University contributed to the study.

The study was supported by Baszucki Group Research Fund, Keun Lau Fund and the Obesity Treatment Foundation.

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diet and weight loss; obesity; mental health research; mental health; dieting and weight control; disorders and syndromes; food; biotechnology and bioengineering; veterinary medicine

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Pilot study shows ketogenic diet improves severe mental illness

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A small clinical trial found that the metabolic effects of a ketogenic diet may help stabilize the brain.

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Eggs don't really impact your heart health

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Eggs don't really impact your heart health

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In an article found on ScienceDaily, a study was conducted to test if eggs, which are avoided by some people with cholesterol problems, really cause high cholesterol. In the study, it was found that those who ate eggs had similar outcomes to those who didn't in terms of their cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a factor in terms of risks to cardiovascular disease, and this study gives a little insight on if people at risk for cardiovascular disease should be eating eggs or not. This could be taught to students because I remember learning about heart disease as young as in elementary school because it is a vast issue in the United States and one of the biggest diseases due to the way Americans eat. Raising awareness to how foods effect your heart health could impact how your students eat as adults.

ScienceDaily. (2024a, March 28). Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240328111037.htm

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Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all

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Whether you like your eggs sunny-side up, hard boiled or scrambled, many hesitate to eat them amid concerns that eggs may raise cholesterol levels and be bad for heart health. However, results from a prospective, controlled trial show that over a four-month period cholesterol levels were similar among people who ate fortified eggs most days of the week compared with those who didn’t eat eggs.