St Peters Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet for Issues like Obesity and Neurodegenerative Diseases and others

Name: Old Mill Chiropractic
Address: USA

January 25, 2024

Inflammation and pain. Eating and healthy living. Neurodegenerative disease and obesity. These are some combos! Old Mill Chiropractic sees these every day in our St Peters chiropractic practice, explains the connections, and urges the exploration of new and different-to-you approaches to enhance health via nutrition like the Mediterranean diet to control obesity and neurodegenerative disease.

NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND OBESITY

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet for patients with neurodegenerative diseases are just getting clearer…as are symptoms both conditions share like inflammation (which also affects back pain sufferers). Such a diet of natural products delivering antioxidants, fiber, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could prevent cell death and even restore function to damaged neurons. (1) Neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s and obesity are associated with low grade inflammation which can lead to concerns like neuronal inflammation, brain atrophy and cognitive decline. With obesity impacting nearly 30% of people around the world, any connections that can affect inflammation and fight obesity like diet and physical activity are hopeful. (2) We can all appreciate that!

“WHAT CAN I EAT WITH THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET?”

US News & World Report granted the Mediterranean Diet as the #1 Best Heart-Healthy Diet, Best Diet for Bone and Joint Health, Best Diet for Diabetes and Best Diet for Healthy Eating in 2024. Core foods are trouble-free: fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, herbs, spices, nuts, and healthy fats. (Think: olive oil, avocado oil.) Add in fish and seafood a couple times a week with dairy, eggs, and poultry on occasion. Skip the red meats and sweet goodies except for special occasions. The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (Think of it as a re-organized USDA food pyramid so many of us might recall from our younger years.) includes red wine (in moderation) and water (lots of that!). It also incorporates eating with friends, dancing, exercising, being physically active! (3) These are the fun activies in life!

PRAISE FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

Mediterranean diet researchers and advocates record multiple benefits: improved brain function, longer life, certain kinds of cancer prevention, heart disease/high blood pressure/”bad” cholesterol reduction, diabetes protection, weight loss/management support, depression prevention, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s avoidance, rheumatoid arthritis and eye health improvement, improved breathing, improved infertility, healthier babies, and more! (3) There is something beneficial for everyone with the Mediterranean diet! Neurodegenerative diseases share a loss of neuronal structure and function as well as progressive dysfunction. Neurodegeneration has many different pathological processes that natural products – especially the ones that have bioactive compounds that are able to cross the blood brain barrier - are important as neuroprotectors. Some such natural products are better known than others: quercetin (tomato, capers, green tea, black and red wine), luteolin, Reservatol (nuts, fruits, grapes), apigenin (flavonoids), genistein (isoflavone), Hesperidin (grapes/citrus), etc. (4) Our St Peters chiropractic patients are manytimes prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs, so our back pain patients may also feel some relief from this type of low inflammation diet. The Mediterranean Diet allows such an array of natural goods!

CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox about the role of inflammation in back pain and spine pain and neck pain on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the beneficial outcomes possible with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Make your St Peters chiropractic appointment soon. Eating well isn’t that hard and is so good for our St Peters chiropractic friends, especially those fighting a few extra pounds and/or dealing with neurodegeneration-related issues.

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