Beetroot for treating heart failure

Beetroot juice supplements may enhance exercise capacity in patients with heart failure, according to a new proof-of-concept study. The study examined the impact of dietary nitrate in the form of beetroot juice supplements on the exercise capacity of eight heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, a condition in which the heart muscle doesn't contract effectively and can't get enough oxygenated blood to the body.

Researchers found that the beetroot supplement resulted in significant increases in exercise duration, peak power and peak oxygen uptake while exercising. The improvements were not accompanied by any changes in the breathing responses of the patients, and there was no change in their exercise efficiency, a measure of how much external work a person gets for a certain input of energy.

Abnormalities in aerobic exercise responses play a major role in the disability, loss of independence and reduced quality of life that accompany heart failure, elevations in ventilatory demand and decreases in peak oxygen uptake are highly predictive of mortality in patients with heart failure. Dietary supplementation may be a valuable addition to treatment for exercise intolerance among heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction.
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Exercise improves memory and thinking

Mild cognitive impairment is an intermediate stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline of dementia. Symptoms can involve problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related changes. Generally, these changes aren't severe enough to significantly interfere with day-to-day life and usual activities.

 A new guideline for medical practitioners says they should recommend twice-weekly exercise to people with mild cognitive impairment to improve memory and thinking. However, mild cognitive impairment may increase the risk of later progressing to dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease or other neurological conditions.

But some people with mild cognitive impairment never get worse, and a few eventually get better. Engaging in aerobic exercise like walking briskly, jogging, whatever you like for more than 100 minutes a week can improve memory. The level of exertion should be enough to work up a bit of a sweat but doesn't need to be so rigorous that you can't hold a conversation. Exercising might slow down the rate at which you would progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.
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Intense workout can improve memory

The latest study showed that six weeks of 20-minute bouts of interval training led to significant improvements in high-interference memory. Researchers discovered that these workouts led to increases in a protein involved in the growth, function and survival of brain cells.

Intense workout could reduce the rates of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, improvements in this type of memory from exercise might help to explain the previously established link between aerobic exercise and better academic performance. Intense workout prevents memory impairment brought on by conditions such as dementia.
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Exercise maintains brain size

Aerobic exercise can improve memory function and maintain brain health as we are getting older. Researchers examined the effects of aerobic exercise on a region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is critical for memory and other brain functions. Brain health decreases with age, with the average brain shrinking by approximately five per cent per decade after the age of 40.

Studies in mice and rats have consistently shown that physical exercise increases the size of the hippocampus but until now evidence in humans has been inconsistent. The researchers systematically reviewed clinical trials which examined the brain scans of different people before and after aerobic exercise programs or in control conditions.

The participants included a mix of healthy adults, people with mild cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's and people with a clinical diagnosis of mental illness including depression and schizophrenia. Ages ranged from 24 to 76 years with an average age of 66. They examined effects of aerobic exercise, including stationary cycling, walking, and treadmill running. The length of the interventions ranged from three to 24 months with a range of 2-5 sessions per week.

Result showed that while exercise had no effect on total hippocampal volume, it increases the size of the left region of the hippocampus in humans. When you exercise you produce a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor BDNF, which may prevent age-related decline by reducing the deterioration of the brain. Exercise maintains the program for the brain, prevents ageing-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and dementia.
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