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Today’s Health Upgrade
More powerful than anti-depressants
Overrated or underrated
The original brain food
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Health
More Powerful Than Anti-Depressants?
The more we research different ways to solve mental health issues, the more it appears iron therapy is part of the ideal prescription.
Recent research found that two sessions per week of resistance training was more powerful than many anti-depressant drugs at reducing depressive symptoms.
The scientists analyzed young adults in their 20s and 30s battling major depressive disorder and general anxiety disorder. They put them on a 25-minute full-body resistance training program, focusing on two sets of 8 to 12 reps of eight different exercises for eight weeks.
The results were nothing short of extraordinary. The scientists scored the impact of different methods on reducing depressive symptoms. Resistance training had an effect size of 1.7. By comparison, SSRIs—a common form of treatment for depression—range from an effect size of .4 to .8.
But it’s bigger than just a number. While the scientists studied a wide range of participants, 19 met the criteria for “mild depression” at the start of the study. By the end of the eight-week resistance training program, 95 percent had improved so much that they no longer met the criteria for mild depression.
Maybe most interestingly, the benefits of the exercise were not connected to the rate of improvement in the gym. In other words, while all participants improved their strength to varying degrees, improvement in mental health did not depend on changes in strength, meaning that another mechanism caused the brain and mood benefits.
Mood disorders can be debilitating and challenging. And if you’re in a dark place, the idea of exercise can seem impossible. So be patient, and remember that each individual benefits from creating a personalized plan, often including some therapy. At the same time, the evidence is becoming overwhelming that movement — both aerobic and resistance training — can play a helpful role in supporting better mood and well-being and help fight against depression and anxiety.
Overrated Or Underrated:
Is Dairy A Health Food Or Hazard?
Is that glass of milk helping or hurting your heart? A meta-analysis took a look at the bigger picture to determine if there’s a relationship between milk and dairy consumption, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and overall mortality.
More than 900,000 people were analyzed across 29 studies, and the scientists found that dairy is not associated with heart disease and is linked with improved overall mortality.
However, the type of dairy you consume might determine how much it helps or hurts your health. A separate study found that the more yogurt, hard cheeses, and milk you drink, the lower your likelihood of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, an increase in butter can cause the opposite.
And it’s not just lifespan that dairy supports. A separate study of 45,000 people found that including moderate amounts of dairy in your diet reduced all-cause mortality and overall cancer risk.
And if you’re worried about weight loss, a review of 27 studies found that people who eat dairy tend to have more success losing fat.
This doesn’t mean you need to eat dairy. If you have food sensitivities or allergies or avoid certain foods based on dietary preferences (such as following a vegan-based diet), then by all means, don’t have dairy. But if you’re avoiding dairy out of fear that it’s bad for your body, most research suggests that dairy has a place in a healthy diet.
Nutrition
The Original Brain Food
Could a simple dietary change be enough to make you a little smarter?
Recent research found that eating blueberries improves cognitive functioning and memory.
Blueberries are rich in antioxidants and other bioactive compounds believed to support brain health. In particular, they are loaded with anthocyanins, an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation, improves metabolic function, and enhances energy production in your cells.
Participants who consumed the blueberries significantly improved memory, learning tasks, and executive function.
It’s also worth mentioning that those eating the blueberries had lower fasting insulin levels, meaning the participants had improved their metabolic health and could process carbohydrates more efficiently.
Blueberries were also associated with reducing several biomarkers linked to dementia risk. That aligns with other research on more than 70,000 people, which found that those who eat more flavonoids (another compound found in blueberries) are less likely to suffer from cognitive decline.
If you want to start adding more blueberries to your diet, the benefits were seen from eating just half a cup of blueberries per day for 12 weeks.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
