To read this article, please click on this link.

https://drjohnday.com/reverse-aging-4-scientifically-proven-strategies/

Mercury and Alzheimer's: Does Eating Fish Increase the Risk?

Studies show that eating fish protects the brain.  However, studies also show that mercury increases the risk of dementia.  So does eating fish, even if there is some mercury in it, increase or decrease your risk of Alzheimer's disease?  Be sure to continue reading this article to find out the answer...

The Rush University Mercury, Alzheimer's and Fish Study

Dr. Martha Clare Morris and colleagues from Rush University have been at the forefront of brain research.  In fact, Rush University is even home to the MIND Diet which is a way of eating that has been scientifically proven to protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

In this study, Dr. Morris wanted to understand what mercury from eating fish does to the brain over time.  They also wanted to see if omega 3 fatty acids from fish, plants, or supplements protected the brain.  To answer this question, she studied the brains of 286 people who had already passed away.

These 286 people not only had donated their brains to Rush University but also had provided them with five years worth of food journals.  Armed with this information, Dr. Morris and her team could then connect the dots between Alzheimer's brain changes and mercury from eating fish.

The 5 Findings of the Mercury, Fish, and Alzheimer's Study

To come to their five conclusions, Dr. Morris and coworkers measured the amount of mercury in these donated brains.  Also, they carefully dissected each of these brains not only looking for the plaques and tangles, commonly seen with Alzheimer's disease, but any other sign of brain damage as well.  Here is what they found:

1. The more fish people reported eating while they were alive, the more mercury researchers saw in their autopsied brains.  No surprise here.

2. Eating fish at least once a week correlated with significantly less Alzheimer's changes to the brain in people with the Alzheimer's gene. This finding isn't always consistent with other studies.

For example, some studies show that fish protects everyone's brain whereas other studies show that fish only protects the brains of people without the Alzheimer's gene.  Regardless, there are no credible studies showing that fish is bad for your brain!

3. Plant-based omega 3s, from foods like walnuts, flax or chia seeds, protect you from strokes.  The finding that plant-based omega 3s may prevent strokes is something that has been backed up by other studies.

4. Fish oil supplements offered no protection to the brain.  This Rush University study is just one of many studies now showing that fish oil doesn't help the brain or heart much.

5. Mercury levels in the brain from fish did not correlate with any brain damage.  This finding that moderate levels of mercury from eating fish doesn't cause brain damage had to be the most important, and reassuring, discovery of this study.

Practical Tips

As blog readers know, I have long been interested in anything that can protect the heart and the brain.  Below are my three practical tips based on the findings of this and other studies.

1. Consider eating fish at least once a week.

In my opinion, the scientific data are now robust enough that people should consider eating fish at least once a week.  However, despite the reassuring findings of this Rush University study, mercury should be minimized to the greatest extent possible.

Just because mercury levels didn't correlate with brain damage, doesn't mean it isn't causing any harm.  To minimize your mercury risk from eating fish, always look for wild, small, or ocean fish.

If wild fish is too expensive for your budget, consider shopping at places like Costco.  Given the high price of wild Alaskan salmon,

Do You Have These Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms? 10 Reasons Why You Need More

Studies show that up to 89% of all Americans are magnesium deficient.  In fact, you just may be one of these magnesium deficient people and not even know it.

In this podcast, I discuss the common magnesium deficiency symptoms.  I also discuss 10 reasons why you need more magnesium.

If you would rather not listen to this podcast to learn more about magnesium deficiency, here is a link to an article I wrote on magnesium deficiency.

Can Buying Time Increase Happiness and Longevity?

In our fast paced modern life, most of us are in living in a time famine.  As a perceived lack of time leads to stress, anxiety, and insomnia, can buying time increase happiness and longevity?  In this article, I review a new study evaluating whether buying stuff or time increases happiness.

My Life

As a child, I always looked forward to Christmas.  I loved seeing the present piled high under the Christmas tree.  My siblings and I would count the hours until Christmas morning.  It seemed as if Christmas would never come.

Once the long awaited day arrived, we would take turns opening our presents.  Opening each new gift gave us each a shot of dopamine to our brains that made Christmas morning almost euphoric.

Despite the incredible highs of Christmas morning, I always felt a correspondingly low crash by Christmas afternoon.  After we ripped through all of the presents, I felt a longing for something more.  It was almost if I felt empty inside after playing with all these new toys.

By the time I made it to adulthood, time was scarce, and my living space became full of stuff.  Stuff that I had purchased for a good reason at the time but yet later often never seemed to need.

For years now, whenever a family member has asked me what I want for my birthday or Christmas I have answered time.  Indeed, anything a family member can do to help me free up time is a gift that I will always cherish.  Time, not stuff, is what makes me happy now.

I always thought that my quest for more time, not stuff made be a bit odd.  Now, after this new Harvard University study, perhaps I was on to something...

The New Harvard Study: Buying Time versus Stuff

In this recently published buying time versus stuff Harvard study, researchers included 6,271 people from the US, Canada, and Europe.  From these 6,271 people, researchers analyzed their buying habits and self-reported life satisfaction.

As you might imagine, this large sample size included the wealthy, poor, and middle class from a number of different countries.  To confirm their findings of these 6,271 people, Harvard researchers added a second component to this study.  They gave a portion of these people $40 on two separate weekends.  With a study design like this, I still wish I could have participated in this study and pocketed $40 on two different weekends!

On one weekend, study participants were told to spend the $40 on things that could save them time like a house cleaner, handyman, or even a neighborhood kid to run some errands for them.  On the other weekend, they were told to go out and buy something with the $40.  After spending the $40, study participants were called and asked about how happy they felt and their stress levels.

The 6 Findings of the Harvard Study

Rather than keep you in suspense any longer, here are the six key findings of this study.

1. Buying time, rather than stuff, increased happiness by 16%.

2. Spending money to create more free time, instead of accumulating more material possessions, decreased perceived stress by 17%.

3. Regardless of whether you are a millionaire or just struggling to survive, buying time resulted in more happiness and less stress.

4. Contrary to conventional wisdom, cash strapped Americans benefited more from "buying time" than millionaires or people from any of the other countries.  Perhaps this says something about how jam packed our lives are in the US.

5. Only 2% of people in the US, Canada, or Europe reported that they would ever spend money to free up more personal time.

6. Outsourcing some of your "to do list" seemed to be much more beneficial for women in reducing their stress and increasing their happiness.

Does Artificial Light Cause Cancer?

A recent Harvard study reported that artificial light at night increases your risk of cancer by up to 21%.  In this article, I discuss how artificial light at night might cause cancer and what you can do to eliminate this risk.

Mary's Experience

Mary had no choice but to work the graveyard shift.  She was a nurse and shared childcare duties with her husband.

As he worked days and she worked nights, they always had one parent there for their children.  Even though she rarely saw her husband at least, they could save on daycare.

This arrangement seemed to work for them until Mary hit her 40s.  At age 43 she started developing heart arrhythmias, and by 46 she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

For someone who was otherwise healthy and worked out regularly, this seemed like too much of a coincidence.  At Mary's last visit with me, she asked, "Do you think working nights caused my heart problem and cancer?"

"Possibly.  Is there any chance you could switch to days?" I asked.

"I have enough seniority at my hospital so it shouldn't be too hard," she said.

The Harvard Artificial Light and Cancer Study

To better understand the potential cancer risks of artificial light, in this study Harvard researchers followed 109,672 female nurses for 24 years.  To determine how much exposure these nurses had to artificial lights for 24 years, researchers studied nighttime satellite images of their houses and neighborhoods.  Once they knew their artificial light exposure, they could then see if there was a link between artificial light at night and breast cancer risk.

In addition to looking at how bright their homes were on satellite images, they also factored in other things like working nights, smoking status, and other health and lifestyle factors.  As you might have suspected, the more the artificial light at night, there was the higher the risk of breast cancer.  Fortunately, for women with healthy lifestyles, this increased breast cancer risk was only 7%.  However, in smokers and nurses working nights, the increased cancer risk from artificial lights was as high as 21%.

How Could Artificial Lights at Night Cause Cancer?

Was the methodology used in this study perfect?  Of course not.  For example, nighttime satellite images can't perfectly calculate their exposure to artificial light at night.  For example, the satellite images would never have been able to pick up bright lights inside of their homes if they had great window shades.

However, before you discount this study, it is important to remember that this is not the first study to link artificial lights at night to cancer.  Indeed, there have been many published studies showing this association.

Although this study was in women, men also seem to be at risk.  For example, studies show that artificial lights at night also increase the possibility of prostate cancer.

The reason why artificial light at night may cause cancer is likely due to shutting down natural melatonin production in the body.  As a result, blue light at night disrupts natural circadian rhythms, sleep, and hormonal balance. Thus, the hormonally triggered cancers, like breast and prostate cancer, seem to be especially susceptible to nighttime blue light exposure.  Certainly, one unanswered question from the medical literature is whether melatonin supplements could undo the risk of artificial light at night.

What is Blue Light?

Blue light has a very short wavelength.  With this short wavelength, it also produces a higher amount of energy.

While blue light is good during the day as it boosts your energy, attention, reaction times, and mood at night it can be very disruptive. As blue light shuts down your natural melatonin production, your sleep may be less than ideal.

Should You Eliminate Nightshades from Your Diet?

The Internet and popular health books would have you believe peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and other nightshades cause inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases.  As I am often asked about nightshades, this article explores the research behind the misinformation and myths about nightshades.  And when it comes to health books, it is important to remember the following quote from Mark Twain:

Be careful about reading health books.  You may die of a misprint.

What are nightshades?

Nightshades are the edible parts of the flowering plants in the Solanaceae family (pronounced sō-lə-ˈnā-sē-ē).  In fact, there are thousands of plants in the Solanaceae family.  While many are inedible, humans have eaten the edible nightshades like peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes for thousands of years without any problems.

Why are nightshades called nightshades?

It is unclear why nightshades are called nightshades.  While there are many theories, my best guess is that it is because many of these plants prefer to grow in shady areas or they flower at night.

What Are You Giving Up by Avoiding Nightshades?

If you are going to follow the popular Internet and "health" book advice and avoid nightshades, you need to know what you are giving up.  If you do choose to give up these foods, you will have to work hard to make sure you pick up these key nutrients and disease fighting abilities from other foods.

1. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the best sources of the powerful anti-oxidant, lycopene.  Tomatoes are also high in vitamins A, C, and fiber.

Tomatoes have been shown in medical studies to help prevent heart disease and cancer.  These two conditions alone account for approximately 80% of all deaths in the US.

2. Peppers

Peppers are another nutritional powerhouse food.  If you give up peppers you will need to make up for the lost vitamins A, C and B6 as well as folate and fiber from other food sources.

In addition to giving up these key nutrients, studies show you will also lose the weight loss benefits, metabolism boost, pain reduction, and heart disease protective effects of peppers.

3. Eggplant

While eggplant may not be as flashy as tomatoes and peppers when it comes to nutritional qualities, they can still hold their own.  Eggplant is a high fiber food which is also high in anthocyanin.

Anthocyanin is that same purple color that is in blueberries.  Many studies show that anthocyanin improves brain function and protects you from many brain diseases including dementia.

4. Potatoes

Potatoes have a bad reputation.  This is probably because more than 90% of potatoes are eaten as french fries or potato chips in the US.  However, if you bake a real potato, and eat it with the skin, you will get a heathy dose of vitamins B6 and C, potassium, and fiber.

For those with diabetes or blood sugar issues, potatoes can be eaten as a resistant starch.  Merely the process of baking a potato, putting it in the fridge overnight, and then reheating it the next day changes it into a resistant starch with no significant blood sugar spike for most people.  To learn more about resistant starches, please read blog number 164, How to Eat Pasta Without Gaining Weight.

Do Nightshades Cause Autoimmune Diseases

One widely propagated belief on the Internet and in "health" books is that nightshades causes autoimmune diseases.  This belief arises from the alkaloids which are in nightshades.

Anecdotally, many people claim that eliminating nightshades helped their autoimmune diseases.  And for those people who report an improvement in their autoimmune disease by cutting out nightshades, they should continue to avoid these foods  However, despite these anecdotal reports,

3 Reasons Why Walnuts May Be the Healthiest Snack

What you snack on may be the most important health decision you make each day.  In this article, I share the latest scientific findings on walnuts.  Based on the results of this new study, I also discuss three reasons why walnuts may be the healthiest snack.

The Snacking Obesity Link

We are all wired a bit differently.  Some of us do best with three meals a day while others may need many small meals or snacks to get them through the day.

What we don't need are the typical snacks.  Snacking now accounts for a third of all calories people eat each day.

The problem is that most snacks are not healthy food choices.  Perhaps this explains why people who snack double their risk of obesity.  For those who like to snack in the evenings, the risk is even higher.  Indeed, studies show that evening snackers triple their risk of obesity.

If your metabolism does best with snacking then consider walnuts.  Even if you aren't a snacker, based on the data I'm going to present, you'll want to consider walnuts if you are at all concerned about your weight.

The New Walnut Study

I really liked this new walnut study.  All too often with nutritional studies, researchers just ask people to remember what they ate over the last 10 to 20 years.  Then, based on what people report eating, researchers try to correlate this to health and longevity.

The problem with these sorts of studies is that most people don't remember what they ate.  For example, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday let alone 20 years ago.

While these types of studies may provide clues, the problem is that they are often inaccurate and lead to conflicting results.  Thus, it is no wonder why there is so much confusion about what foods are healthy!

This study was different.  In this study, Harvard researchers somehow convinced 10 people to be locked up in a hospital for five days on two different occasions.  With the study participants locked up, researchers had 100% control of everything they ate.  No outside food could be smuggled in.

On one of their 5-day stays, each study participant drank a daily walnut smoothie.  On their other 5-day stay, they drank the same smoothie minus the walnuts.  To keep the study results clear, the researchers kept the calories, taste, and nutritional composition of the smoothies otherwise the same.

3 Reasons Why Walnuts May Be the Healthiest Snack

1. Walnuts Fill You Up

While these study participants were locked up in the hospital, researchers asked them to rate their hunger.  Interestingly, during the 5-days they unknowingly drank the walnut smoothie, people reported feeling very full.

To confirm that these study participants weren't just imagining things, researchers also scanned their brains with a functional MRI.  Sure enough, they found that those people who had walnuts slipped into their daily smoothie had the satiety center of their brain all lit up.

The key take away here is that if you struggle with hunger pangs between meals, as I often do between surgeries, try munching on a few walnuts.  Or, if you want to avoid snacking all together, try eating a few walnuts with your meal.  As each smoothie in this study only contained 48 grams of walnuts (about 20 walnut halves), it doesn't take much to fill you up.

2. Walnuts Make You Choose Healthier Foods

The second interesting finding of this study is that researchers wanted to tempt these poor study participants after they drank their daily smoothies.  On the days when walnuts were slipped into their smoothies, pictures of hamburgers and deserts didn't seem to tempt them.

Even more interesting was that on the days they unknowingly ate walnuts, pictures of vegetables seemed to excite them.

Reverse Aging with Sulforaphane

Could sulforaphane be the best superfood you have never heard of?  If so, that would make broccoli sprouts the healthiest food on this planet.  In this article, I'll share the science behind why sulforaphane may be the best way to reverse and prevent almost every medical condition.  I'll also reveal the best 12 foods to reverse aging with sulforaphane.

What is Sulforaphane?

Sulforaphane is a sulfur-containing food molecule that reverses aging, stops inflammation, kills cancer, protects the brain, and puts an end to cardiovascular disease.  While sulforaphane is found naturally in cruciferous vegetables, these vegetables must be prepared and eaten in the right way to maximize the bioavailability of sulforaphane.  And it is this special preparation that explains why broccoli sprouts have so much more sulforaphane than all of the other cruciferous vegetables combined.

The Top 10 Effects of Sulforaphane

1. Slows Aging

Sulforaphane turns on your genes which make Nrf2.  Studies show that Nrf2 is the master protein in the body to slow aging by activating whatever longevity genes you may have.

While you have probably never heard of Nrf2, there have now been more than 5,500 scientific studies published on Nrf2.  What we do know is that Nrf2 prevents the cells in your body from growing old by protecting them from inflammation, free radicals, and the many other things that wear your cells out over time.

2. Stops Inflammation

Chronic over stimulation of the immune system causes inflammation.  Chronic inflammation in turn causes rusting of our bodies.

Inflammation that is never turned off is one of the root causes of premature aging, autoimmune disease, arthritis, cancer, dementia, and heart disease.  Through activation of Nrf2, studies show that sulforaphane stops inflammation and recalibrates the immune system to function properly again.

3. Fights Cancer

Cancer is perhaps the most feared of all human conditions.  And when it comes to cancer fighting foods, sulforaphane seems to be the best.

People eating the most cruciferous vegetables have long been known to have very low rates of cancer.  In studies, sulforaphane is incredibly effective in stopping most forms of cancer in animals.

Based on how effective sulforaphane is in destroying cancer in the laboratory, researchers are now studying it in humans.  For example, there are now 12 studies assessing the cancer fighting effects of sulforaphane in humans.

4. Protects Your Brain

No one wants to lose their memories.  As I discussed in blog number 81, BDNF or brain derived neurotrophic factor, is the most important protein to have around in your body if you want a sharp brain throughout your life.

Fortunately, studies show that sulforaphane also boosts BDNF.  Perhaps this boost in BDNF helps to explain why studies of diabetic rats, who are known to quickly develop dementia, can preserve their memories with sulforaphane.

5. Protects Your Heart

It has often been said that you are only as old as your arteries.  Indeed, your biological age is directly linked to how much plaque is in your arteries.  If you can keep the plaque out, your body will stay young.

When it comes to staying young and preventing cardiovascular disease, you need more sulforaphane.  As with cancer, many studies have reported that those people eating the most sulforaphane from cruciferous vegetables live longer and are much less likely to get heart disease.

Specifically, sulforaphane prevents atherosclerosis or plaque build up.  For example, in one interesting study researchers pumped rabbits full of the highest cholesterol containing food they could find.  Despite a diet literally off the charts in cholesterol, the rabbits who were also fed sulforaphane foods didn't get hardening of their ar...

John and Jane Day Discuss The Longevity Plan on the Maureen Anderson Show

This is a special feature podcast episode.  On this podcast, my wife joined me as a guest on the Maureen Anderson show.

As you can tell from this podcast, we quickly hit it off with Maureen and her husband Darell. The two of them run a nationally syndicated radio show called, Doing What Works.

If you haven't yet listened to their show, I encourage you to do so. They share so much practical advice with each episode.

What did you think about this podcast?  Please leave your thoughts and questions below.

4 Ways Time in Nature Extends Life

A recently published study reports that the more green space there is within 820 feet of your home, the longer you will live.  In this article, I review this study and the scientific evidence that nature extends life.  Armed with this information, I also share some real simple strategies that could not only add years to your life but more health and happiness as well.

Jeff's Experience

Jeff recently came to see me for a second opinion.  Jeff was struggling with a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation.

With atrial fibrillation, the heart is out of rhythm.  This causes a rapid and irregular pulse.  Not only does an out of rhythm heart make people feel poorly but it also increases their risk of stroke, heart failure, and dementia.

"How often do you get outside?" I asked.

"Rarely, if ever.  Between my work and family responsibilities, there just isn't any time," Jeff replied.

It was at that time that it suddenly hit me.  Jeff's life was completely out of rhythm from the way we were designed to live.  If his life was out of rhythm, how could we expect his heart to be in rhythm?

The Exposure to Nature and Risk of Death Study

In a recent study, Harvard University researchers wanted to understand the link between time in nature and risk of death.  To answer this question, researchers studied 108,630 nurses.

In order to estimate the impact of nature on longevity, researchers measured the amount of "greenery" surrounding their homes.  This was done based on satellite images looking for any green vegetation within 820 feet (250 m) and 0.8 miles of their homes (1250 m).

To put this study into perspective, most of these nurses lived in metropolitan areas in or around Boston.  As there were so many things that could throw off the results of a study like this, these Harvard researchers adjusted for other factors that are known to affect longevity like age, ethnicity, smoking, and socioeconomic status.

Findings of the Time in Nature and Longevity Study

After following these 108,630 nurses for 8 years, these researchers came up with some very interesting findings.  Below are the six key findings of this study:

1. People with the most green vegetation around their house had a 12% lower risk of dying during the study.

2. There was no difference in your survival advantage if the greenery was within 820 feet (250 m) or 0.8 miles (1,250 m) of your home.

3. Having "nature" near your home was associated with much a much lower cancer and lung disease risk.

4. Physically active nurses with a lot of green vegetation near their homes enjoyed the greatest life extending benefits.

5. Whether you lived inside or outside of a city didn't seem to affect longevity.

6. Having greenery near your home increased your chances of never being on an anti-depressant, exercising regularly, having more social connections, and breathing less polluted air.

4 Ways Time in Nature Extends Life

Based on the findings of this study, these Harvard researchers proposed four reasons why nature extends life. While I am confident there are many other reasons why nature extends life, below are the four ways they came up with:

1. Green vegetation makes us happy.

Depression is a well established cause of heart disease and a premature death.  Indeed, studies show that a history of depression can double your risk of a heart attack and an early death.

Quite remarkably, how much greenery was near your house also predicted whether or not you would ever need an antidepressant.  This finding raises the question that one potential cause of depression may be that modern life has us trying to live in a way that we were not designed to live.

Fortunately,