Nutrition

A study published in the February 2019 issue of Aging Cell indicates that metformin may reduce the effectiveness of exercise. Metformin is a drug that has been approved for people with Type 2 diabetes to help control blood sugar. However, the drug is also used by healthy people for its anti-aging properties. The researchers are concerned about off-label use of this drug.

Metformin is a popular drug worldwide for those who have Type 2 diabetes. This medication helps improve their blood-sugar control and sensitivity to insulin.
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Parkinson’s disease is a multi-neurological disease. Currently, most Parkinson’s treatments focus on increasing dopamine production and reducing motor symptoms and tremors through medication. However, this disease has many causative or contributing factors that cause changes in healthy brain function. Many of these factors are also relevant for dementia, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Wilson’s diseases as well. Which factors impact brain functioning and the development of brain disease? Are there natural approaches to preventing and slowing the progress of such devastating diseases? This article offers a brief overview, based on the new book, Natural Parkinson’s Support: Your Guide to Preventing and Managing Parkinson’s.
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Researchers are finding that food and supplements containing nattokinase may reverse atherosclerosis. Current treatments for hardening of the arteries slow down the progression of heart disease. Effectively reversing atherosclerotic lesions would be a dream come true for drug manufacturers. Nattokinase is the most active ingredient in natto. Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. Could we increase our longevity by consuming natto or nattokinase supplements?
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Brain health is especially important in seniors. Seniors are susceptible to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, memory problems, and cognitive decline. Which foods boost brain power the most? At Natural Eye Care, we have picked eleven common foods that have brain-saving properties. Scientists have been studying the nutrients in foods for decades. They have isolated specific nutrients that cross the blood-brain barrier. These types of nutrients get direct access to the brain and even the retina. The retina is made from neural tissue. Researchers find that many of the nutrients helpful for the brain also stave off eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Try adding some of these foods to your regular diet. Seniors need fewer calories than younger folks. Therefore, replace “junk food” like cookies, candy, and chips with these brain-boosters.
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Seniors often struggle with some form of indigestion: bloating and gas. What can you do to prevent indigestion? Could digestive enzymes help? Digestive issues can stop you from absorbing of key nutrients. Nutrition is especially important for seniors’ eye health. Read on to find out more about digestive enzymes.

What are Digestive Enzymes?

Digestive enzymes help break down food in the digestive tract. As we grow older, our body produces fewer of these enzymes. Undigested food passes into the colon, where it causes bloating, gas, diarrhea, and cramping. Lack of digestive enzymes makes seniors vulnerable to malnutrition.
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Lack of Vitamin D has been associated with eye diseases like uveitis, macular degeneration, and dry eye. Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to cancer, immune disorders, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, bone pain, depression, asthma, multiple sclerosis, and even dementia. Shockingly, more than 40% of the US population is Vitamin D deficient. The body manufactures Vitamin D, so why is deficiency wide spread? Indoor living, aging, and many other factors are behind this virtual pandemic. How can you measure your vitamin D levels? How can you get enough? Isn’t fortified milk enough? Should you take a supplement? Which one?
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Three time-tested supplements stand out as champions for eye and brain health: garlic, ginseng, and ginkgo. Research on these supplements backs up why they have been used for thousands of years. Garlic plays an important role in all three major traditional medicines–Traditional European Herbal Medicine, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ginseng and ginkgo are crucial herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Do these supplements work? Are they beneficial for aging brains and eyes? What does the research show?
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Astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant that helps prevent sun damage to the body by blocking free radical damage. This bright red molecule forms in certain algae, pink seafood, and yeast. Unlike beta-carotene, this carotenoid crosses the blood-brain barrier to help maintain healthy brain function. Astaxanthin helps the brain by promoting neurogenesis, the generation of new brain neurons. This nutrient also supports existing neurons by reducing oxidative stress. Scientists have found that astaxanthin can protect against cumulative sun damage to the eye. This nutrient may help reduce the risk of eye disease such as macular degeneration. It may also protect against cataracts and vision loss from glaucoma. In addition, related carotenoids called lutein and zeaxanthin block blue light and work synergistically with astaxanthin.
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The Paleo Diet or “Caveman Diet” is trendy, but what effect could it have on the eyes? The idea is to eat like hunter-gatherers in the Stone Age. These early humans had no agriculture–and no processed foods. Nearly devoid of grains and dairy products, this diet focuses on meat, fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables.

Why the Paleo Diet?

The discordance hypothesis holds that the invention of agriculture resulted in a diet that did not match our DNA. Did we evolve to eat large amounts of grains and dairy products? Farming is only 10,000 years old, but our Stone Age ancestors lived 2.5 million years before this.
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