Weekly Blog

Jan 30

Sometimes, there are just so many interesting bits to share that we have to cut out any of the unnecessary verbiage in order to get it all in and try to keep it at least reasonably short. This is one of those weeks. No big lead in and no hook needed - the info itself is interesting enough (at least in one author's opinion).

First, the tried and true. This week saw the drop of 2 reviews, which provided what we might call new old news; that is, reinforcement of information we've talked about many times before: (1) Tea, especially green tea, is a powerful health agent, and (2) so are blueberries. 

Of course, the authors go deeper in their review of the evidence, showing not only the benefits related to prevention of heart disease, cancer, and metabolic health risk (among others) for tea drinkers, especially those who get 2-3 brewed cups per day, but they also point to some new twists that we may not have heard as much about. Specifically, they outline benefits for brain health, muscle and bone health, inflammatory profiles, and even antimicrobial (antibacterial, antiviral) effects. Oh, and for those who aren't used to seeing single digits in the forecast but have this week...it's warm too!

As for the blueberries, a similar theme came through again - they're still amazing from a global health perspective. This is in part because of the great role they play in keeping our vessels healthy, but there's more here as well. The authors go beyond vessel health to point out the great impacts they have on the gut-microbiome, on cardiometabolic risks like blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol, as well as strong effects on inflammation, cellular stress, and even brain health. A cup a day could go a long way.

The next study, which grabbed my attention, was less along the lines of "tried and true" and felt more like "the other shoe"...dropping...on the Keto diet. This one was an assessment of longer-term effects and, unlike many short-term studies which have been intriguing, it wasn't great news. The caveat is that this was a mouse study, and so we can't make direct line comparisons, but even with that considered, the results should probably prompt more questions for those leaning toward higher-fat diets. While the researchers found that the mice that were kept on a longer term keto diet didn't gain as much weight as those on the western diet (which on the surface seems like a good thing), the tradeoffs, which included significantly more fatty liver disease, losses in lean muscle mass and poorer blood sugar control when carbs were reintroduced, caused the research team to recommend caution. Once again, except in very specific cases, extreme diets (all carbs, no carbs, etc) over the long term appear to struggle under scrutiny. Which gets us to our last category for the week, research that might seem "too good to be true".

One of the great promises of exercise is that it keeps our bones strong. Since the late 1800's, thanks to German anatomist Julius Wolff, we've known that our bones adapt to the loads they are placed under, getting thicker and stronger as a result of physical activity. However, now a team from Hong Kong may have found the exact mechanism. They reported their discovery of the Piezo1 protein, which acts as a physical activity sensor and prompts the bones to add strength rather than store fat. This means they have essentially figured out how to turn bone strengthening on at the cellular level, no exercise required. Again, this study was in mice, so let's not overgeneralize, but for those who don't love exercise (or have an injury or illness that makes it impossible), quotes like this, from the lead author, are exciting news. "By activating the Piezo1 pathway, we can mimic the benefits of exercise, effectively tricking the body into thinking it is exercising, even in the absence of movement." Of course, there are (literally) thousands of other benefits of exercise beyond bone health, so we probably shouldn't write it off just yet, but this is undoubtedly a fascinating discovery.

There's more to come on these topics, but until then, have a great weekend,
Mike E.