- Speak for the Heart is now Positive Vibes!
- Posts
- Can yoga help prevent Alzheimer's?
Hello again!
I’m back with your weekly dose of heart-health news!
I hope you’ve had a heart-healthy week and have found some time for stress relief. If you’d like to share which stress-reduction techniques work best for you, please just reply to this message. I always love hearing from readers and am always open to new ideas!
(For new subscribers: this weekly health-news update goes out every Wednesday, except for the final Wednesday of the month, when the long magazine-style version of Speak for the Heart will be delivered to your inbox. As always, premium subscribers get bonus content in every issue!)
To your health,
Yasmine S. Ali, MD
Weekly Heart-Health News: The Highlights
My Take:
In keeping with our theme of stress relief and reduction, it’s encouraging to see that yoga, which is great for relieving stress while strengthening mind and body, has now been found in new research to have the potential to delay or prevent cognitive decline, particularly in older women who are at high risk for developing dementia. This was a small study, on 22 women who were mostly in their 60s, and focused specifically on kundalini yoga, but I think it is very encouraging and confirms what other studies have shown: that the practice of yoga actually changes the brain, when viewed on medical imaging. I would love to see further research in this area!
And if you’re interested in learning more about kundalini yoga, here’s a good beginner’s guide.
Quick Poll:
Do you practice yoga?(Your answers are always anonymous.) |
My Take:
We’ve long known that berries are a “superfood”—blueberries, in particular, have been singled out for their antioxidant properties. Now strawberries, too, have specific research supporting their health benefits, including lower blood pressure, better cognitive processing speed, and greater antioxidant capacity. This is great news, because strawberries are delicious! Both fresh and frozen have similar nutrients, so feel free to enjoy them either way. Just don’t add sugar—not only would that be canceling out their health benefits, it’s not necessary: berries have their own delicious, natural sweetness to be savored!
My Take:
I’m a board-certified cholesterol specialist (clinical lipidologist) myself, so I can vouch for the information in this article—I agree with the numbers and the guidelines. I’m also of the belief (along with nearly every other cardiologist) that “lower is better” when it comes to LDL and non-HDL cholesterol, so keep that in mind when you look at the chart presented in this article and compare it to your own cholesterol numbers. Don’t know your numbers? Be sure to ask your doctor for a check-up!
Dutch cure for loneliness?
In the Netherlands, what’s old is new again… (premium only)
Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.
Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.
Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.
A subscription gets you:
- • Exclusive, bonus content in EVERY issue!
- • FREE Premium Health Guides and Heart-Health Tip Sheets, as soon as they are released!
- • Access to "Cooking with a Cardiologist," including restaurant guides, heart-healthy recipes, meal plans, cookbook recommendations, videos, and more!
- • Special subscriber discounts on future products (e-books, workbooks, courses, webinars, live events, calendars, merchandise, etc.)
- • Eligible for special Premium subscriber giveaways!
- • Lifestyle tips and strategies with actionable advice for promoting heart health and cardiovascular well-being