Green Tea and Alzheimer’s

Green Tea and Alzheimer’s

Recent studies of Alzheimer’s disease in mice has shown that exercise and a compound found in green teas can slow the progression of the disease and may also reverse its effects. Researchers looked at epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is a green tea extract, and studied its effect on memory function by placing mice in a maze and testing their ability to navigate as well as build a nest with provided materials. After scoring them, the mice with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease tended to build poor nests. Later, the mice were given EGCG in their drinking water and access to exercise wheels. Upon follow-up maze and nesting tests on the mice, there was a visible improvement in cognitive function and behavior of mice that were given EGCG and exercised. These results suggest that dietary polyphenols and exercise may have positive effects on brain health and even help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise Improves Sleep Habits

A study by University of Pennsylvania provides new insight on specific types of activities that help to improve sleep quality. Participants were asked what type of physical activity they typically do and how much sleep they got in a 24-hour period. All activities except for household/childcare were associated with a decreased likelihood of not enough sleep, as compared to those who didn’t perform any physical activity in the past month.  Specifically, walking, aerobics/calisthenics, biking, gardening, golf, running, weight-lifting and yoga/Pilates were each linked to fewer cases of insufficient sleep, while household chores and childcare were associated with an more cases of insufficient rest. Findings suggest that those who exercise by walking are more likely to have better sleep habits, and that higher-intensity workouts like running and yoga are even better.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Research shows that normalization of low testosterone levels with the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) helped decrease risk of heart attack, stroke and premature mortality. After performing studies on a group of older men without history of heart attack or stroke and who had below-average testosterone levels were given TRT. There were 47% fewer deaths among the group with normalized testosterone levels compared to men whose hormone levels failed to normalize, and there were 56% fewer deaths than those who did not receive TRT.  Results show that testosterone carries anti-inflammatory and other beneficial effects and that normalization of testosterone levels using TRT is linked to lower mortality, fewer heart attacks and strokes if the dose is adequate to normalize the testosterone levels.

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