Got Acne? Top Nutrients Researched

📢 New Research Alert

Can nutritional supplements help people with acne?

Researchers asked that question in a review of 42 studies just published in JAMA Dermatology.

They found:

🔹 The highest quality studies showed potential benefits from vitamin D, green tea extract, and probiotics.

🔹 Other studies suggested benefits from vitamin B5, omega-3 fatty acids, and gamma linoleic acid.

🔹 Zinc was the most commonly studied nutrient, but it only showed benefit in half the studies. Higher doses were more helpful but were also associated with adverse effects.

This type of review is helpful because it allows us to take a birds-eye view of all of the research to date rather than just one individual study.

It’s limited by only looking at supplements rather than foods and dietary patterns, but it’s good evidence that nutrition can make a difference for skin health!

Like if you found this helpful ❤️

Reference

Shields A, Ly S, Wafae B, et al. Safety and Effectiveness of Oral Nutraceuticals for Treating Acne: A Systematic Review. JAMA Dermatol. Published online October 25, 2023. [link]

Nutrition for Brain Health

The Best Diet for Your Brain 🧠

If you’re heading into the new year thinking about healthier choices for your body and brain, consider this:

A new study spanning 12 years in people over the age of 65 in France found that those who followed a Mediterranean Diet had a lower risk of cognitive decline.

The unique thing about this study was that it didn’t just rely on the participants to report their eating habits.

Instead, the researchers measured markers in blood samples and in the gut microbiome that relate to the Mediterranean diet pattern—which means more accurate and reliable results!

The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes:

▪️ Fruits, vegetables, beans, & whole grains

▪️ Healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, & seeds

▪️ Protein from fish, poultry, beans, & eggs (only small amounts of red meat)

▪️ Some dairy products

▪️ Limited sugars

The Mediterranean Diet has not only been linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline but also better heart health and a lower risk of cancer.

📲Tag a friend in the comments who might want to hear this!

Reference

Tor-Roca A, Sánchez-Pla A, Korosi A, et al. A Mediterranean Diet-Based Metabolomic Score and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: A Case-Control Analysis Nested within the Three-City Cohort Study [published online ahead of print, 2023 Oct 24]. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2023. [link]

[New Study] How to Lower Blood Pressure

How almost anyone can lower their blood pressure in ONE WEEK👇

I’m not making this up!

This study was done at Northwestern University and recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

They found that 72% of all people could lower their blood pressure by 6-8 points—in one week…

Simply by reducing sodium in the diet 🧂

The participants were in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

To get this result, they limited their sodium intake to 500 mg per day, which is lower than the 1500 mg max recommended by the American Heart Association.

The main culprits when it comes to high-sodium foods are processed, packaged, and fast foods, like:

▪️ 3 slices of bacon has 411 mg

▪️ 1 cup canned tomato soup has 471 mg

▪️ McDonald’s Big Mac has 1007 mg

But an apple only has 2 mg of sodium 🍏

Sodium is only one variable in the diet, but you can see how eating whole and fresh foods will win out over processed foods every time.

Drop me a 🍏 if you found this helpful ❤️

Reference

Gupta DK, Lewis CE, Varady KA, et al. Effect of Dietary Sodium on Blood Pressure: A Crossover Trial. JAMA. Published online November 11, 2023. [link]

New Study: Intermittent Fasting vs. Caloric Restriction

Intermittent Fasting vs. Calorie Restriction:

🤷‍♀️ Which works better?

A new study compared them in a group of 75 people with type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Here are the highlights:

▪️ Participants were randomly assigned to intermittent fasting (freely eating between noon and 8pm daily) or caloric restriction (25% calorie reduction).

▪️ After 6 months, those doing intermittent fasting had lost twice as much weight on average (-3.56% vs. -1.78%).

▪️ Both groups experienced similar improvements in average blood sugar levels (measured by HbA1C).

Caloric restriction is the norm in diet culture, but it’s hard to follow (this study also showed better adherence to intermittent fasting than calorie restriction), and a LOT more goes into healthy eating and weight loss than just calorie counting.

Intermittent fasting is not for everyone.

This is something I discuss on an individual basis with clients to come up with the best plan for each person.

Give us a like if you learned something new or share to a friend that may find this interesting! ❤️

Reference

Pavlou V, Cienfuegos S, Lin S, et al. Effect of Time-Restricted Eating on Weight Loss in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(10):e2339337. [link]

Prescription Medication Trends in the US

Prescription drug use in the US is at an all-time high ➡️

A new study out of Penn State shows that Americans can expect to take prescription drugs for about half their lives—a little more for women and a little less for men.

Does that bother you?

Some of the medications that are being prescribed more than ever include blood pressure medications, cholesterol-lowering medications, and antidepressants.

For example:

A girl born in the US in 1996 could expect to take antidepressants for 5.55 years of her life, but by 2019, that number jumped to 12.52 years.

This👆is just one of the many sobering statistics from the study.

I am not against medications, but there are often less invasive and more effective ways to support health, and many of the most commonly prescribed meds treat conditions that respond dramatically to lifestyle.

Prevention is truly the best medicine—starting with food, water, movement, and rest.

↗️ Share to your stories to spread the word!

Reference

Ho JY. Life Course Patterns of Prescription Drug Use in the United States. Demography. 2023;60(5):1549-1579. [link]