Hello friends,
How are you these days? I hope you’re enjoying the summer and the nature - I’m sending you this beautiful rose from my Londonian garden!
Today i will give you some food for thoughts (literally :), and hopefully it will encourage you to have an even more healthy diet. Food doesn’t only replenish your body’s energy, it is also really good for your brain and cognition. It also massively influence your gut microbiome, so better feed well your tiny but numerous guests in your belly to make them work for/with you, not against you.
Of course, we will all indulge from time to time in some comfort/ not-so-healthy food, but it should be more the exception than the rule. And actually, the more unwell we feel, the more we should aim for a healthy diet.
So let’s learn few things together and check in with what scientists have discovered lately about the food & health.
Vegetables intake (via Vit C and carotenoids) decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes
Lowering sugar helps people with familial hypercholesterolemia
How diet influences mental well being
Vegetables & fruits intake lower the risk of type 2 diabetes
This prospective case-cohort study aimed to investigate the association of plasma vitamin C and carotenoids, as indicators of fruit and vegetable intake, with the risk of type 2 diabetes.
In this large study with dietary diversity across eight European countries, higher concentrations of plasma vitamin C and carotenoids were associated with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes.
The public health implication of these findings is that the consumption of even a moderately increased amount of fruit and vegetables among populations that typically consume low levels could help to prevent type 2 diabetes.
Less sugar for people with a genetic predisposition for high cholesterol
Historically, dietary recommendations for cardiovascular disease prevention have focused on targeting serum cholesterol reduction with a low saturated fat, low cholesterol diet. These recommendations are also usually given to individuals having an inherited genetic condition that can lead to increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (‘bad cholesterol’) - familial hypercholesterolemia- that have an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.
This study suggests that the main cardiovascular risks of these individuals are linked to an insulin-resistant phenotype (elevated triglycerides, blood glucose, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), obesity, high insulin, high‐sensitivity C reactive protein, hypertension) and to an increased susceptibility to bleeding disorders. "For the past 80 years, people with familial hypercholesterolemia have been told to lower their cholesterol with a low saturated fat diet. Our study showed that a more 'heart healthy' diet is one low in sugar, not saturated fat"said one of the lead author of the study.
Therefore, the scientists propose that individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia and with signs of insulin resistance should be made aware of the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet.
How diet influences mental wellbeing
Food can influence our mood and mental well being, and conversely stress or mental illnesses can influence our food choices, even though these interactions are not yet fully understood.
In this study, researchers demonstrated that healthy eating patterns like a Mediterranean diet are associated with better mental health than ‘unhealthy’ patterns, such as a Western diet.
Therefore, their findings have shown that a Mediterranean diet— high consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes; moderate consumption of poultry, eggs, and dairy products; and only occasional consumption of red meat- is associated with a lower risk of depression.
The mechanisms are complex, especially as eating “comfort foods” in times of low mood or changes in appetite from stress are common human experiences. Food would activate intricate pathways linked to insulin sensitivity, hormones, immunity, inflammation, brain and gut health. The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in all these pathways and many studies in animals and humans have shown that there are tremendous modifications in gut flora in people with depression, for example, or that healthy animals that had fecal transplants from depressed ones will have depression-like behaviour post-transplant.
Since food is the main modulator of our gut (besides genetics and antibiotics intake), we should use it wisely, not only as fuel for body energy but also for our brain health.
Here is one of my recent brain food I very much enjoy:
saffron-turmeric-lemonade, with a pinch of green chillies :)
Do you have a question about diet, health & mental wellbeing? Write me at lavinia@drionita.com.
I wish you a happy and healthy summer,
Love,
Lavinia 💖
Dr Lavinia Ionita
Functional Medicine doctor | CEO & Founder of Akesio