November 2024 Random Research Tidbits

Healthy Belly Fat—Say What???

New research shows that regular exercise shifts metabolism towards healthier belly fat.

💥 New Research Alert!

A new study found that people with obesity or overweight who regularly exercised over time (4 times per week for 2+ years) had “healthier belly fat” than non-exercisers.

What is healthier belly fat?

The belly fat in exercisers had structural and biological differences—with more blood vessels, mitochondria, and proteins that would promote fat storage just under the skin (subcutaneous fat) rather than deeper in or around the organs (visceral fat).

Did you know that WHERE your body stores fat is just as important as the fat itself?

It’s true.

Subcutaneous fat is more metabolically healthy and poses less risk than fat stored in or around the organs.

Even though this study only looked at people with obesity or overweight, it shows that exercise programs the body to store fat in safer ways.

Just remember:

You don’t always see immediate benefits from positive lifestyle changes like exercise.

But keep it up!

Your future body will thank you.

[PMID 39256590]

How To Slow Brain Aging

Big new study shows that a healthy lifestyle lessens the impact of high blood sugar on brain aging.

Check out the details of this study:

Brain age was evaluated in more than 13,500 people with prediabetes and about 1100 with diabetes.

Both groups had brain ages that were (on average) older than their chronological ages (half a year older in prediabetes and 2+ years older in diabetes).

But here’s the kicker:

🪄💫 A healthy lifestyle significantly lessened the relationship between diabetes and brain age—reducing the gap by 1. 86 years.

For the curious mind, the components of a “healthy lifestyle” included no smoking, no heavy drinking, and high physical activity.

The bottom line:

Your diagnosis is never your destiny ❌

Regardless of whether or not you have prediabetes or diabetes, this study is a reminder that we always have the power and ability to make choices that support better health.

What is one choice you’ll make today? Let me know in the comments!

[PMID 39193914]

Pesticides Are The New Smoking!?!?!?

A new nationwide study in the US suggests pesticides may be the new smoking when it comes to cancer risk.

👀 This one is eye-opening.

Awareness of our unique risk factors for disease is essential to crafting a plan for prevention and proactive wellness, and this is one of those studies that definitely creates awareness.

👉 The study evaluated pesticide use patterns in 3,143 counties across the US and cancer incidence rates from trusted sources like the NIH and CDC.

Some key findings:

▪️ People living in agricultural areas are often exposed to a cocktail of pesticides (69 were monitored in this study).

▪️Pesticides have a significant impact on increasing cancer risk, comparable or worse than smoking in some cases.

▪️The Midwest showed the highest cancer risk associated with pesticides, while the Great Plains showed the lowest.

Even though this type of study cannot establish a causal relationship, it can increase awareness that pesticides may be an overlooked cancer risk.

So, what can we do about it?

If avoidance is not realistic, we can support the body’s inherent detoxification mechanisms. This is a personalized conversation to have with a healthcare provider who understands how to take a root-cause approach.

Is Grassfed Beef Really Healthier?

A new study compared the nutrient profiles of pasture-finished beef and grain-finished beef.

Here’s what they found 👇

The nutrient profiles of beef differ 🔥

The study compared Black Angus beef from 2 commercial US beef farms:

🐄Pasture-finished on Western US rangeland

🐄Grain-finished in a Midwest US feedlot

While the grain-finished beef was higher in some B vitamins (B5 & B6) and gamma tocopherol, the pasture-finished beef had more:

✔️ Antioxidants

✔️ Alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E)

✔️ Vitamin B3

✔️ Choline

✔️ Myo-inositol

✔️ Omega-3 fatty acids

Pasture-finished beef also showed lower levels of oxidative stress and improved mitochondrial function compared to grain-finished beef.

Two potential metabolites of antibiotics were only observed in grain-finished beef.

Is pasture-raised beef worth it?

[PMID 39215122]

So, what do you think?

I hope you found these random trivia research tidbits enlightening!

Rachel Oppitz, ND