Omega-3 and Omega-6 supplement improves reading for children

University of Gothenburg, Sweden – September 14, 2022

Supplement of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may improve reading skills of mainstream schoolchildren, according to a new study from Sahlgrenska Academy, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Children with attention problems, in particular, may be helped in their reading with the addition of these fatty acids.

The study included 154 schoolchildren from western Sweden in grade 3, between nine and ten years old. The children took a computer-based test (known as the Logos test) that measured their reading skills in a variety of ways, including reading speed, ability to read nonsense words and vocabulary.

The children were randomly assigned to receive either capsules with omega-3 and omega-6, or identical capsules that contained a placebo (palm oil) for 3 months. The children, parents and researchers did not learn until the study was completed which children had received fatty acids and which had received the placebo. After three months, all children received real omega-3/6 capsules for the final three months of the study.

“Even after three months, we could see that the children’s reading skills improved with the addition of fatty acids, compared with those who received the placebo. This was particularly evident in the ability to read a nonsense word aloud and pronounce it correctly (phonologic decoding), and the ability to read a series of letters quickly (visual analysis time),” says Mats Johnson, who is chief physician and researcher at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.

No children diagnosed with ADHD were included in the study, but with the help of the children’s parents, the researchers could identify children who had milder attention problems. These children attained even greater improvements in several tests, including faster reading already after three months of receiving fatty acid supplements.

Mango could help maintain gut bacteria at risk from high-fat diets
Oklahoma State University, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
Mango consumption could help prevent the loss of beneficial gut bacteria caused by a high fat diet, according to research on mice.

The findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition , appears to reveal for the first time the positive impact of mango on gut microbiota.

In the study, 60 male mice were assigned to one of four dietary treatment groups for 12 weeks – control (with 10% of calories from fat), high fat (with 60% calories from fat), or high fat with 1% or 10% mango. All high-fat diets had similar macronutrient, calcium, phosphorus, and fiber content.

“We investigated the effects of freeze-dried mango pulp combined with an high-fat diet on the cecal microbial population and its relation to body composition, lipids, glucose parameters, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and gut inflammatory markers in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity,” the study reports.

The high-fat dietary treatment with 10% mango (equivalent to 1½ cups of fresh mango pieces) was found to be the most effective in preventing the loss of beneficial bacteria from a high-fat diet without decreasing body weight or fat accumulation.

Specifically, mango supplementation regulated gut bacteria in favor of Bifidobacteria and Akkermansia and enhanced short-chain fatty acid (SFCA) production. SCFAs have been shown to possess a wide range of beneficial effects, such as anti-inflammatory properties.

Yoga improves arthritis symptoms and mood, study finds
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, September 15, 2022

A randomized trial of people with two common forms of arthritis has found that yoga can be safe and effective for people with arthritis. Johns Hopkins researchers report that 8 weeks of yoga classes improved the physical and mental wellbeing of people with two common forms of arthritis, knee osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The study is believed to be the largest randomized trial so far to examine the effect of yoga on physical and psychological health and quality of life among people with arthritis.

The study recruited 75 people with either knee osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Participants were randomly assigned to either a wait list or eight weeks of twice-weekly yoga classes, plus a weekly practice session at home. Participants’ physical and mental wellbeing was assessed before and after the yoga session by researchers who did not know which group the participants had been assigned to.

Compared with the control group, those doing yoga reported a 20% improvement in pain, energy levels, mood and physical function, including their ability to complete physical tasks at work and home. Walking speed also improved to a smaller extent, though there was little difference between the groups in tests of balance and upper body strength. Improvements in those who completed yoga was still apparent nine months later.

Stevia Kills Lyme Disease Pathogen Better Than Antibiotics (Preclinical Study)
University of New Haven, September 21, 2022

A promising new preclinical study has revealed that whole stevia leaf extract possesses exceptional antibiotic activity against the exceedingly difficult to treat pathogen Borrelia Burgdorferi known to cause Lyme disease. The study found,

“Stevia whole leaf extract, as an individual agent, was effective against all known morphological forms of B. burgdorferi.”

At present, the CDC acknowledges that at least 300,000 are infected with Lyme disease, annually, with the conventional standard of care relying on antibiotics that are not only toxic but increasingly coming under scrutiny for addressing only surface aspects of the infection, often leaving antibiotic-resistance Lyme disease deep within the system to continue to cause harm.

The new study was published in the European Journal of Microbiology & Immunology and conducted by researchers from the Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT.

The researchers directly compared an alcohol extract of a whole stevia leaf product commonly found on the U.S. retail market to conventional antibiotics, and assessed their respective abilities to kill the various forms of Borrelia burgdorferi, including so called “persister” forms.

The researchers explored Stevia’s potential effectiveness against B. burgdorferi cultures, comparing it to three common antibiotics sometimes used to treat Lyme’s disease: doxycycline, cefoperazone, daptomycin, as well as their combination.

The study results were summarized as follows: Our results demonstrated that Stevia had significant effect in eliminating B. burgdorferi spirochetes and persisters. Sub-culture experiments with Stevia and antibiotics treated cells were established for 7 and 14 days yielding, no and 10% viable cells, respectively compared to the above-mentioned antibiotics and antibiotic combination. When Stevia and the three antibiotics were tested against attached biofilms, Stevia significantly reduced B. burgdorferi forms. Results from this study suggest that a natural product such as Stevia leaf extract could be considered as an effective agent against B. burgdorferi.”

Notably, the study found that the most antibiotic resistant form of B. burgdorferi, the biofilm form, actually increased in mass when individual antibiotics were administered. Stevia, on the other hand, reduced the biofilm mass on both tested surfaces (plastic and collagen) by about 40%.

Green soy extract could prevent cognitive dysfunction: Mouse data

University of Shizuoka (Japan), September 19, 2022

Intake of green soybean extract could help reverse cognitive dysfunction and its associated accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins in the brain, say researchers.

The accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins has long been linked to the development of brain stunting conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Writing in the Journal of Functional Foods, the team revealed that brain functions were ‘significantly better-preserved’ in aged mice fed green soybean than age-matched control mice with or without yellow soybean feeding.

An increased expression of lipocalin-type prostaglandin D2 synthase (Ptgds) and a significant reduction in the amyloid precursor protein Aplp1 was reported by the team, led by Keiko Unno from the University of Shizuoka in Japan.

“Furthermore, the amount of beta-amyloid 40 and 42 was reduced in the insoluble fraction of cerebral cortex,” the team noted.

In the current study, the isoflavones found to be present in soybean extracts were mostly the glycosides genstin and daidzin. Furthermore, the contents of saponin and carotene in green soybean were found to be slightly higher in the green than in yellow, however the contents of other components were not different between green and yellow soybeans.

JAMA study links low vitamin D levels to ‘profound’ and ‘rapid’ cognitive decline

Rutgers University & University of California Davis, September 15, 2022

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency may have “substantial” accelerating effects on cognitive decline in the elderly, says a new study from UC Davis and Rutgers University.

Low levels of the sunshine vitamin were associated with a three times faster rate of cognitive decline than those with adequate vitamin D levels, according to findings published in JAMA Neurology .

The low vitamin D levels were associated with impaired performance, particularly in domains such as memory loss that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, added the researchers.

The researchers said their findings amplify the importance of identifying vitamin D insufficiency among the elderly, particularly high-risk groups such as African-Americans and Hispanics, who are less able to absorb the nutrient from its most plentiful source: sunshine. Among those groups and other darker-skinned individuals, low vitamin D should be considered a risk factor for dementia, they added.

Dr Miller and his co-workers analyzed data from 382 racially and ethnically diverse men and women (mean age of 76) in Northern California participating in longitudinal research at the Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Sacramento. Of the participants, 41% were white, 30% were African American, 25% were Hispanics, and 4% were from other racial/ethnic groups. The participants were either cognitively normal, or had mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

Baseline data showed that 26% of the participants were vitamin D deficient, while 35% were insufficient. Among Caucasians, 54% had low vitamin D, compared with 70% of African-Americans and Hispanics.

The rate of cognitive decline was found to be two-to-three times faster in the vitamin D deficient people over five years of study, compared to people with adequate serum vitamin D levels. In other words, it took only two years for the deficient individuals to decline as much as those with adequate vitamin D declined during the five-year follow-up period.