Read up! Eat up!
The foods and beverages that you consume have a profound impact on your health, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in its recently published Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, 9th Edition. The scientific connection between food and health has been well documented for many decades, with substantial and increasingly robust evidence showing that a healthy lifestyle – including following a healthy dietary pattern – can help people achieve and maintain good health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases throughout all stages of the lifespan. The new edition of Dietary Guidelines is 150 pages long, but full of easy-to-understand verbiage and graphics.
Breast density best measured at age 40
High breast density not only has a masking effect on mammogram reading, it also increases the risk of breast cancer. However, most women do not know their breast density classification until after their first mammogram at age 50. A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that a mammography screening strategy based on a baseline breast density measure at age 40 may be the most effective and cost-effective way to reduce breast cancer mortality. (Current breast cancer screening guidelines recommend that mammography begins at age 50 for women at average risk.) The Breast Density Notification Act requires providers to inform women who have a mammogram whether they have dense breasts.
Cognitive aging can be slowed down or even reversed
Aging and inflammation go hand in hand. Overactive inflammatory responses lead to conditions more common in people over 65 – atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and frailty. In the brain, inflammation is also tied to cognitive decline. Myeloid cells that should clear debris no longer do so, but instead go into inflammatory overdrive that contributes to neurodegeneration. The newsletter Stat reports that a new study in the journal Nature of aging mice and older human cells shows that treating myeloid cells with a drug that suppresses a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule corrected glucose metabolism, controlled inflammation, and restored cognition – as measured by tests of mouse memory and spatial navigation. “Our study suggests that cognitive aging is not a static or irrevocable condition but can be reversed,” the authors write.
Folic acid helps prevent major birth defects
Folic acid is an important part of planning for a healthy pregnancy, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC urges all women of reproductive age to consume 400 mcg of folic acid each day, in addition to consuming food with folate from a varied diet, to help prevent major birth defects of the baby’s brain (known as neural tube defects). The two most common types of neural tube defects are anencephaly and spina bifida. Anencephaly is a birth defect in which parts of a baby’s brain and skull do not form correctly. Babies born with anencephaly cannot survive. Spina bifida is a serious birth defect in which a baby’s spine does not develop correctly and can result in some severe physical disabilities. All women, but especially those who might become pregnant, need 400 mcg of folic acid every day.
Two arms … two different BP readings?
Generally, a small difference in blood pressure readings between arms isn’t a health concern, according to Mayo Clinic. However, a difference of more than 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) for either your top number (systolic pressure) or bottom number (diastolic) may be a sign of blocked arteries in the arms, diabetes or other health problem. People who repeatedly have an interarm blood pressure difference of 10 to 15 mm Hg for systolic pressure are more likely to have vascular disease. They also have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease and related complications during the next 13 years. If you have a large difference in blood pressure readings between arms, talk to your doctor.