Like chocolate milk and hot cocoa? You could be just two glasses a day away from a healthier heart. New information indicates that drinking chocolate milk containing cocoa could help improve abnormal blood lipid and cholesterol levels, which puts people at risk for  atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Dr. Ramón Estruch of the University of Barcelona’s Department of Internal Medicine was the study’s senior author. Estruch and his team asked 42 high-risk men and women age 55 or older to take part in an experiment examining the effects of cocoa on heart disease.

“Cocoa and its derived products, such as chocolate, represent a very rich source of dietary flavonoids, which contain a higher content per serving than tea or red wine,” authors write. “The health benefits associated with cocoa consumption have been related to their capacity to improve the lipid profile and insulin sensitivity, diminish blood pressure, reduce platelet activity and function, and ameliorate endothelial dysfunction.”

Participants were given two sachets of non-fat, sugar-free Cola Cao, a popular Spanish cocoa powder mix similar to Nesquik. They were to mix 20 g (about 1 ½ Tbs.) with 250 ml (~8.5 oz) of skim milk and drink twice daily—once with breakfast, and again with dinner or an afternoon snack. All participants followed a Mediterranean-style diet, but were asked to exclude foods with cocoa, olive oil, red wine, tea, or fruits and vegetables with high polyphenol levels.

Participants did have a slight weight gain of about 1 pound. Total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were slightly (although not significantly) lower.  Cocoa did, however, show anti-inflammatory effects. These were modest compared to those of red wine, but significant nonetheless.

HDL (good cholesterol) levels were also significantly higher after drinking chocolate milk.

“Our results suggest that regular consumption of nutritional doses of cocoa may have an effect on all initial phases of the atherosclerotic process in subjects at high risk of coronary heart disease,” authors wrote. “These anti-inflammatory effects, together with other previously reported effects, including those of antioxidant, anti-platelelet, and positive vascular effects, may contribute to the overall benefits of cocoa consumption against atherosclerosis.”

The study appears in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

There may be added benefits to that diet you’re on—following a Mediterranean-style diet may put you at a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center found that individuals who adhered to a Mediterranean-type diet in addition to exercise were 60% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible degenerative disease affecting the brain, often causing severe memory loss (a result of damage to the hippocampus) and destroyed cognitive ability. Alzheimer’s, which typically begins around age 60, is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly.

Damage to the brain may begin as early as 20 years before any complications are detected. Alzheimer’s begins when neural tangles form in the entorhinal cortex. This causes the neurons to function less efficiently, and the neurons eventually die, causing these areas of the brain to shrink.

“We know that some part of Alzheimer’s is related to genetic changes and as time goes on we discover more and more of these changes,” explains lead author Nikos Scarmeas, M.D., and associate professor of clinical neurology at Columbia. “But it is also possible that non-genetic changes, including lifestyle and behavior, may also be affecting our brain health and our risk of developing brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.”

The study examined 1,880 multi-ethnic individuals, average age 77, from Northern Manhattan in New York City. The group was divided into two smaller groups, for which information on both physical activity and mental status was available. Participants did not show signs of dementia at the beginning of the study, and were followed from 1996 to 2006, measured every 18 months for neurological changes.

Participants were measured for physical activity level (no physical activity, light activity such as golfing, moderate activity like biking, or vigorous activity such as jogging) and how well they stuck to the diet (on a scale of 0-9). Diet scores were higher for individuals who consumed more fruits, vegetables, legumes and fish, and less meat, dairy and saturated fats.

“Often times people who exercise also follow a healthy diet and vice versa,” Scarmeas says. “We wanted to tease out which of these two behaviors may be associated with lower risk for AD, or if the combination of the two is associated with decreased risk even further.”

Individuals who had low physical activity had a 29-41% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who  were physically inactive, while individuals with “much” physical activity further decreased their risk by 37-50%. Strongly following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a 40% risk reduction for Alzheimr’s. Individuals with high diet adherence and high activity individuals showed a much lower absolute risk than those with low diet adherence and activity status, reduced from 21% to 9%.

According to Scarmeas, this study emphasizes the importance of a healthy lifestyle. "We need to understand and learn more about the exact biological mechanisms that may connect physical activity and diet with the biological changes of Alzheimer's disease," he says. "This study is important because it shows that people may be able to alter their risk of developing Alzheimer's by modifying their lifestyles through diet and exercise."

Learn more about Alzheimer's disease by visiting Healia's Alzheimer's Community.

The old adage that age 40 is "over the hill" has come under fire recently as aging baby-boomers proclaim that "50 is the new 40" or "life begins at 50." With respect to brain function however, a more appropriate new aphorism might be "30 is the new 40." Researchers at the University of Virginia reported this week that some mental abilities begin to decline at age 27 after peaking at age 22.

The seven-year study of more than 2,000 healthy people aged 18-60 involved 12 tests of mental agility such as solving puzzles, recalling words and story details, and spotting patterns. For 9 of the 12 tests, the peak performance was achieved on average at age 22. By age 27, scores on the three tests that measure brain speed, reasoning, and visual puzzle-solving ability all began to decline. Scores on memory-related tests began to decline at around age 37, while scores on tests of cumulative knowledge such as vocabulary and general information continued to increase until the age of 60.

The study appears in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

For more on the relationship between cognitive abilities and aging, join the Healia Support Group for Healthy Aging.

_{Photo: Liz Henry, Flickr, Creative Commons}

In an attempt to aid consumers in the tough task of choosing a long-term care facility, the U.S. Government has unveiled a new five star rating system for nursing home quality. The Centers for Medicare&Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs that often pay for nursing home care, released the rankings on its Web site this week.

In the first round of ratings, about 12 percent of the nearly 16,000 homes rated got a full five star rating, while 22 percent got the lowest rating of one star. The remaining two-thirds of facilities were rated somewhere in between.

The ratings are based on three major criteria: data from state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures. The Web site gives nursing homes a rating in each of these three categories along with a rating of overall quality.

For the state inspection measures, CMS used data from an annual survey designed to measure how well homes protect the health and safety of their residents. Staffing level measures are self-reported by the nursing homes and include the number of hours that nursing and other staff dedicate per patient each day. The measurement for quality looks at 10 areas, including the percent of residents who have bed sores after their first 90 days in the home, the number of residents whose mobility worsened after admission, and whether residents received recommended medical care.

A spokesperson for CMS said the agency was merely taking existing data on their Web site and making it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home, noting that is can be very difficult to understand all the aspects of an inspection.

While consumer groups and the nursing home industry agree that improving access to information about such facilities is a good idea, they also agree that the new system has some shortcomings. A spokesperson for the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform suggests that the rating system may not be stringent enough, warning that nursing homes may appear in the ratings to give better care than they actually do. Industry officials note that the ratings do not include what may be the most important aspect of all: consumer satisfaction.

The ratings Web site can be found at www.medicare.gov; rankings will be updated quarterly. If you or a loved one is facing the tough decision of choosing a nursing home, you can join the Healia Health Community for Seniors’ Health to connect with others dealing with the same situation.


_{Photo: so.salem, Flickr, Creative Commons}