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Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) is gearing up to take on Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Fitbit Inc. (FIT) in the smartwatch/fitness wearable market, filing a listing with the Federal Communications Commission for a wearable device dubbed the Samsung Gear Sport.

The FCC listing, spotted by Android Authority, describes a wrist device, which could mean it's a smartwatch, a fitness tracker or both combined into one wearable gadget. While timing for the release hasnt been disclosed, speculation is that the South Korean consumer electronics giant will unveil it next week at its Unpacked event in New York. The company has already teased a major revea,l and the FCC is one of the stops before a product can go on sale in the U.S.

While the images in the filing look like a smartwatch, Android Authority noted the FCC isnt labeling it one, rather identifying it as a wrist device. That is leading to increased speculation that it's focused more on the fitness market with this new wearable. Smartwatches and wearable devices have been slow to take off in the U.S., but one area of the market that is seeing growth and traction is the fitness side of things.

Wearable devices that can track movements, monitor heart rates and support other health applications are gaining more stickiness with consumers, market research firm International Data Corp. said in a research report earlier this year. It's not a mistake that both Apples WatchOS and Googles Android Wear have shifted focus to fitness and health applications. In May, reports surfaced that Apple was getting into the market for diabetes monitoring devices with CEO Tim Cook spotted testing a continuous glucose monitoring device on the Apple Watch. (See also: Apple Entering Glucose Monitoring Market With Apple Watch.)

Samsung will be entering a crowded marketplace if it launches a fitness and health-focused wearable. Apple and Fitbit are gearing up to launch new devices and there are rumors Apple could roll out a watch that can make phone calls in what is expected to shake up the market. It will also help the Cupertino, Calif., company regain its lead in wearables that it gave up to Xiaomi of China. In the second quarter, Strategy Analytics said global shipments of wearable devices reached 22 million units, up 8% year-over-year (YOY), with Xiaomi controlling 17% market share. That was enough to overtake both Fitbit and Apple to become the worlds largest manufacturer of wearable devices. In the second quarter of 2016, the industry shipped 20 million wearables.

Xiaomis Mi Band fitness trackers are wildly popular in China, due to their highly competitive pricing and rich features such as heart-rate monitors, step-counters and calendar alerts, wrote Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, in a recent report. Fitbit is at risk of being trapped in a pincer movement between the low-end fitness bands sold by Xiaomi and the fitness-led, high-end smartwatches sold by Apple. (See also: Fitbit's Smartwatch Project Is in Turmoil: Report.)

Thats not to say Samsung isnt up for the challenge. Rewind a little more than a year ago, and it was struggling with the embarrassing and costly recall of the Galaxy Note 7, which was prone to catch on fire. Now it has a huge hit on its hands with the Galaxy S8 line of smartphones.

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Samsung Could Be Taking on Fitness Market - Investopedia

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Even if you've got a steady, consistent workout grind going, there's no doubt that life can get in the way, either for a day, a week, or even a month. And even the fittest among us know the feeling. Julianne Hough recently posted an Instagram on Tuesday marking the end of her four-week gym hiatus, and it's a reminder that it's completely OK to take breaks from an intense workout schedule.

"Back at it and it feels soooo good! But also really hard after taking a month off," she wrote in the caption of the photo, which shows her on the way to the gym. "I'm so grateful that I made this part of my everyday lifestyle. Staying active and working out is now a must for me. It's hard to get started (especially after indulging guiltlessly on your honeymoon) and to keep going sometimes, but I always find if I can give it three weeks of hard work and discipline, something in my body and mind switches and it becomes so much fun," she continued.

From the sounds of it, Hough isn't stressing about taking a step back from her six-days-a-week workout routine, which usually includes a combination of high-intensity cardio and resistance training at fitness hotspots like the Tracy Anderson Method and Body By Simone. It's all about appreciating the time off (in Hough's case, with African safaris and tropical beaches on her honeymoon), and then getting back into your routine.

Rhere's something to be said for these types of breaks: Many experts agree that stepping back from a consistent workout schedule can help keep you on-track long term, too.

"You not only can take time offyou should," exercise physiologist Tom Holland, C.S.C.S., tells SELF. While rest days are crucial for seeing physical results (because muscles rebuild stronger while you're resting, not while you're exercising), longer rest periods are designed to keep you mentally in the game.

"It's about rejuvenating and recharging your batteries," says Holland. Even if you truly do love your workouts, you can have too much of a good thing. If you're sticking with the same workouts, people tend to burn out (and may quit for longer periods of time), Holland says. And while mixing up your workouts is sound advice for combatting fitness boredom, "a huge part of mixing it up is taking time off, especially if you are consistent," he adds.

In addition, if you're not really into your workouts, taking a break can help reset your perspective, says Mike T. Nelson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., an adjunct professor at The Carrick Institute. "Taking a break can benefit your outlook," he tells SELF. "When you come back, I would look to do something that you enjoy morenot all of it has to be super fun, but overall you need to learn to enjoy the process to stay with it long term."

Nelson recommends limiting rest periods to a week, while Holland says up to two weeks is fine for some people. "If you're taking two weeks off every three months, that might work really well for you," Holland says. And hey, sometimes, that might get stretched into three or four weeks (like Hough)it happens. But the key is not letting it get so long that you won't jump back into a routine. You know yourself best, so trust what you know works for you.

Hough's right, thoughit can be hard to get started again. Physically, you may notice that you can't lift quite as much weight, put as much power into indoor cycling, or run for as long. Research shows it takes about two weeks for your cardio capabilities to start to diminish. Muscle mass takes much longer to decrease, so you might notice that you can lift about the same amount after a break, but you have a harder time with cardio. Know that this is completely normal, and your body will rebound quickly. (Here's exactly what happens to your body when you take a break from working out.)

It might sound scary, but don't sweat itwhile the fitter you were going into a break, the faster you'll likely bounce back, Holland stresses that anyone can get back to their pre-break capabilities. It takes more time for some people than others, depending on your starting point and how long the break was, but not working out for a month doesn't reduce you to a level that feels like you've never worked out before, Holland says.

Nelson suggests easing back into your workout routine slowly after taking time off. To avoid over-doing it, take three to four weeks to get back to what you were doing rather than rushing in. Holland says this can mean lower intensity, shorter workouts.

It's also important not to judge yourself based on where you were before, says Hollandas an endurance athlete, if he's taken a break, he won't wear a timing watch at first. "Don't get down on yourself, and know that something is better than nothing," Holland says. "If it challenges you, it's changing you, as the old clich goes."

Aside from the physical changes, it can be tough to get back into a routine mentally, too. For Hough, she finds that three weeks of consistency is what it takes for her to get back in the zone. However, the age-old idea of taking 21 days to make or break a habit doesn't hold true for everyoneresearch shows that everyone's sweet spot is different (one study found that it took participants anywhere from 18 to 254 days, while the average was 66 days). It's entirely individual, so do what works for you.

One mantra that helps Hough stay disciplined when she's getting started again? She writes in her Instagram caption, "there is a battle of two wolves inside us, the one that wins, is the one you feed. All we need is within us, now! Stay strong, fight the fight, and then enjoy!" Amen to that.

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You May Also Like: This Woman's Incredible Acrobatic Skills Will Make Your Jaw Drop

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Any Gym-Goer Can Learn From Julianne Hough's Fitness Break - SELF

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Virginia Davies believes you can be fit at any age. At 61 years old Davies is in great shape. But it wasnt always that way. Although she was president of the Girls Athletics Association in high school, as her career in law progressed fitness became less of a priority.

At age 49 Davies underwent a radical hysterectomy and it was then that she became concerned about her health. Davies has a degree from Harvard Business Schools advanced management program and a doctorate in law from the University of Toronto. Before founding Fast Twitch Grandma digital media platform, Davies worked as a prosecutor for Canadas Department of Justice, then worked in banking and for the UN Foundation. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Davies has lived in New York City with her husband for 20 years and for the last seven years she has lived part-time in Coronado during the winter while her husband teaches law at USD. She has two daughters and two grandchildren with a third on the way.

Once Davies became an expert in her personal health and fitness she decided to share her knowledge with other experts on the Fast Twitch Grandma site co-founded with Grayson Fertig to help people 50 and over with their fitness journey. Based on her own experience she found out that you dont have to belong to a gym to maintain your athleticism, you can do it at home or with your family. She also realized that trainers did not include speed work for people over 40 years old in the training they offered. Davies decided to change that and started with herself. Davies is now a US Track and Field Level I coach and does sprinting and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to stay strong, healthy and prevent injury. When she is in Coronado she enjoys swimming at the community center pool and doing sprints on the beach.

She explained the reasoning behind Fast Twitch Grandma. It was a very mindful, deliberate way to bring to readers, lay readers, the most up to date information of what scientists in the the field of fitness and exercise and other aspects of well being. We bring the most cutting edge research to readers, she said of the site. For example recently one of the writers was in Germany at a convention and reported on the latest research on back pain. They have developed a new machine in Germany, a new protocol that we dont have here, she said. Davies hopes that once her readers find out about this latest technology they will ask their doctors.

Davies took on the name Fast Twitch Grandma when once she was running on the track and someone said There goes Fast Twitch Grandma. But Davies stresses the fact that you dont have to be a grandma to check out Fast Twitch Grandma.

Readers can sign up for a Fast Twitch Grandma newsletter and the site has no ads because Davies wants to ensure the readers know the integrity of whats being presented. The site has articles and videos by fitness experts. I learned that 20 percent of childrens primary caregivers are grandparents. If they dont have that kind of information how are they going to pass it on to children. I wanted to make it accessible, she explained.

Fast Twitch Grandma offers many tips and information to get started on your fitness journey. No matter where you are, well help you understand the research. Were mentors to support you, so you can get started in your fitness journey, she said.

Davies talks about the five components of health and fitness discussed on Fast Twitch Grandma: speed, strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. Think about each one. Not everyone should be a triathlete it has to fit with who you are and where you live, she said.

Fast Twitch Grandma also gives ideas about activities anyone can integrate in their families to be more active and readers can also type in their zip code to search fitness and health events in their area.

Davies explained that just like certain types of exercise is not for everyone and you have to find out what works for you there are also differences between men and women you have to be mindful of. We do try to highlight gender differences, research has shown differences like gender nutrition and in post menopausal women the importance of strength training and repetitions, she said. Other topics covered are concussions for children that parents and grandparents have to watch out for and new studies that indicate that children should practice their math skills while doing jumping jacks.

For more information log on http://www.fasttwitchgrandma.com.

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Fast Twitch Grandma Offers A Platform For Health And Fitness - Coronado Eagle and Journal

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Your mindset can impact your mortality in surprising ways.

The journal Health Psychology recently published a fascinating (and well-written) scientific study suggesting that how fit you think you are affects your risk of death more than how fit you actually are.

Researchers at Stanford University examined information collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) between 1990 and 2011. This included questionnaire responses, demographics, medical history, physical exam, and physical activity data from over 60,000 very diverse people a representative sample estimated to reflect over 475 million US adults.

People were asked to rate how active they thought they were, as compared to their peers. The study volunteers actual activity was measured in three ways:

Researchers took into account various measures of health. These included:

An impressively long list of demographic details were also accounted for, including: gender, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, environment (urban vs. rural), employment, annual household income, and access to medical care.

Lastly, the respondents data was linked to the National Death Index. Some respondents were followed for as many as 21 years; approximately 10% died during the study follow-up time.

The researchers analyzed the data in many different ways, including correcting for all these other important factors that could also influence their conclusions. The results were surprising. No matter how they ran the numbers, if people thought they were a lot less active than their peers, this was associated with a statistically significant higher risk of death: at least 18% when compared to the general population (those whose data were not included), and up to 71% higher when compared to people who thought they were more active. Again, this is regardless of actual physical activity or other health risk factors (smoking, being overweight, etc.).

Which is pretty remarkable.

The findings are supported by the previous research of one of the authors. She studied 84 women whose job (cleaning hotel rooms) was very active. Half of the women were informed that what they did for work was very active, active enough to meet recommended exercise levels. The other half got a lecture about physical activity and exercise recommendations, but no one told them that they were sufficiently active. Interestingly, after only four weeks, not only did the informed women report that they were more active, they also had decreases in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index.

The authors offer three explanations:

Many doctors use negative language and feedback in their attempts to promote healthy behavior change. Theyll point out that the patient is overweight or inactive or smokes, and tell them how bad and dangerous their behavior is (i.e., The Finger-Wagging Doc). This research suggests that the opposite approach may be far, far more effective. After all, there are positive things to focus on for every patient. Maybe she has made a commitment to change, or he has had past successes that can be reviewed and studied. What has worked, and what can work? Highlight every positive behavior and small improvement, herald every success, and if it wasnt sustained, emphasize that its all part of the learning curve. The Health Coach Doc approach may foster a lot more success, and better health.

Of note, this amazing study was conducted using data that is free and accessible to anyone. This is yet another reason we need to support government-funded scientific data collection and research.

Perceived Physical Activity and Mortality: Evidence from Three Nationally Representative US Samples. Health Psychology, July 2017.

Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect. Psychological Science, February 2007.

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Mind over matter? How fit you think you are versus actual fitness - Harvard Health (blog)

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An outdoor film, outdoor fitness and the heart of the Erie County Fair are among WNY Refresh Top 10 Picks of the Week when it comes to health, fitness, nutrition and family events in the region.

MONDAY

Erie County Fair: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. today through Sunday (midway hours 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.), Erie County Fairgrounds, 5600 McKinley Parkway. Special events include $5 admission Tuesday. General admission is $10 for adults and $7 for those 60 and older. Children 12 and younger are free at the fair. For more info, visit ecfair.org.

Slow Roll Buffalo: 5:30 p.m., roll at 6:30 p.m., Richardson Olmsted Campus, 400 Forest Ave. Ten-mile guided ride for all ages, abilities. First-time riders register at slowrollbuffalo.org. Free.

Summer film: Bee Movie, at dusk, Shakespeare Hill in Delaware Park. Hosted by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Wegmans Food Markets. Free. Weather dependent.

TUESDAY

Stephanie Latawiec instructs a Blitz Body Bootcamp class, one of the weekly free events sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of WNY at Canalside in Buffalo. (Mark Mulville/Buffalo News)

Jada Blitz Body Boot Camp: 7 p.m., Canalside. Fast-paced workout for maximum results. Free. Will sample Balanced Body meals and offer fitness class participants 15 percent off with the code Canalside.

Hikes, bikes, yoga, lots more outdoor fitness abounds in WNY

WEDNESDAY

Bone Health Nutrition Workshop: Noon, The Dale Center, 33 Ontario St., Lockport. With food demonstration to outline nutritional needs for strong, healthy bones at every age. Free.

THURSDAY

Yoga: 6 p.m., Ellicott Creek Park, 1 Ellicott Creek Drive, Town of Tonawanda.

FRIDAY

BollyX: 9:30 a.m., Clarence Town Park, 10405 Main St. Bollywood-inspired dance-fitness program that combines dynamic choreography with the hottest music from around the world. Free.

BAMF Ninja/Parkour: 7 p.m., Canalside. Learn how to navigate obstacles in your environment as effectively and efficiently as possible. Get very good at getting over, under, around and through just about anything. Free.

SATURDAY

Building a Healthy Buffalo Community Panel:The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo will host a presentation by Buffalo City Public Works, Parks & Streets Commissioner Steven Stepniak, landscape architect Joy Kuebler, regional transportation planner Kelly Dixon, andKate Kraft, executive director of America Walks, a national walkability advocacy group. Refresh Editor Scott Scanlon will moderate. The event will run from 8:30 to 11 a.m. in the Hotel Henry, 444 Forest Ave.; a walk on the grounds of the surrounding Richardson campus will follow. The workshop is free. Municipal officials, planners and members of the public are encouraged to attend. Registration is required by calling 851-4052 or online by clickinghere.

Buffalo Bisons Superhero Night: 6 p.m., Coca-Cola Field. The Superheroes and Villians from The Superhero Alliance of WNY will be stationed throughout the ballpark to meet and have pictures taken with for fans of all ages. Fireworks follow the baseball game. Proceeds benefit the Mental Health Associations CASA Program and Compeer Buffalo.

email: refresh@buffnews.com

Twitter: @BNrefresh, @ScottBScanlon

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The Healthy 10: Roll, hit the fair, enjoy outdoor fitness this week - Buffalo News

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Your diet can influence your appearance. You knew that. But did you know that what you eat can also affect your body odor and your attractiveness to the opposite sex? Lilli Carr for NPR hide caption

Your diet can influence your appearance. You knew that. But did you know that what you eat can also affect your body odor and your attractiveness to the opposite sex?

What we eat can influence more than our waistlines. It turns out, our diets also help determine what we smell like.

A recent study found that women preferred the body odor of men who ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, whereas men who ate a lot of refined carbohydrates (think bread, pasta) gave off a smell that was less appealing.

Skeptical? At first, I was, too. I thought this line of inquiry must have been dreamed up by the produce industry. (Makes a good marketing campaign, right?)

But it's legit. "We've known for a while that odor is an important component of attractiveness, especially for women," says Ian Stephen of Macquarie University in Australia. He studies evolution, genetics and psychology and is an author of the study.

From an evolutionary perspective, scientists say our sweat can help signal our health status and could possibly play a role in helping to attract a mate.

How did scientists evaluate the link between diet and the attractiveness of body odor?

They began by recruiting a bunch of healthy, young men. They assessed the men's skin using an instrument called a spectrophotometer. When people eat a lot of colorful veggies, their skin takes on the hue of carotenoids, the plant pigments that are responsible for bright red, yellow and orange foods.

"The carotenoids get deposited in our skin," explains Stephen. The spectrophotometer "flashes a light onto your skin and measures the color reflected back," says Stephen. The results are "a good indicator of how much fruits and vegetables we're eating," he says.

Stephen and his colleagues also had the men in the study complete food frequency questionnaires so they could determine the men's overall patterns of eating. Then the men were given clean T-shirts and asked to do some exercise.

Afterward, women in the study were asked to sniff the sweat. (Note: The methodology was much more scientific and precise than my breezy explanation, but you get the picture.) "We asked the women to rate how much they liked it, how floral, how fruity," and a bunch of other descriptors, explains Stephen.

It's a small study, but the results were pretty consistent. "Women basically found that men who ate more vegetables smelled nicer," Stephen told us.

Men who ate a lot of meat did not produce a sweat that was any more or less attractive to women. But meat did tend to make men's odor more intense.

"This is not the first study to show that diet influences body odor," says George Preti, an adjunct professor in the dermatology department at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

A study published in 2006 found that women preferred the odor of men who ate a non-meat diet, "characterized by increased intakes of eggs, cheese, soy, fruit and vegetables."

But Preti points out that the relationship between diet and body odor is indirect.

Some people think if they eat a garlic or onion or a piece of meat they will smell like that food. "But that's not what happens," Preti says. Your breath might smell like the food you eat, but not your sweat.

Body odor is created when the bacteria on our skin metabolize the compounds that come out of our sweat glands.

"The sweat doesn't come out smelly," Preti explains. "It must be metabolized by the bacteria that live on the surface of the skin."

Now, of course, at a time when good hygiene and deodorant use are commonplace, is the smell of our sweat a big concern?

I put that question to the happy hour crowd at a bar down the street from the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"I'm pretty OK with my smell," Stefan Ruffini told me. That evening he was ordering a burger on a bun and a side of fries, along with a beer. When I told him about the findings of the study, he laughed it off.

"I've got a girlfriend, so I don't worry about these things," he said.

The study did not assess diet and odor attractiveness among same-sex couples.

"As a lesbian, I haven't smelled a man in several years," Stacy Carroll, who was also at happy hour, told me. "I eat a lot of produce, I have a girlfriend, so it's working out."

Carroll says people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are more likely to be interested in their health "feeling good, looking fit" than their smell.

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Men, Listen Up: Women Like The Smell Of Guys Who Eat A Certain Diet - NPR

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If I were to tell you that our nations nutritional and overall health woes could be fixed with the help of a Berkeley native who is a 27-year vegetarian and the mother of two living in New York City, you would most likely think I have lost it, right?

Well, that is what I am telling you. That person is Nina Teicholz; a trained investigative journalist who spent nine years studying diet and disease with no formal training in nutrition and yet what she has uncovered every man, woman and child in this country needs to hear.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is still forming its administration, and one leadership role that still needs to be filled is that of the person who will ultimately guide the future of dietary guidelines. I make no bones about having faith in Teicholzs abilities to do that because she does not sit back or kowtow to the squeaky wheel. She simply shares the science of developing proper diets that has long been suppressed.

For example, in the past month a hit piece on animal agriculture was released on Netflix. That vegan agenda piece is called What the Health. Within hours of its release, Teicholz was the first response available on the internet and you can read it at http://www.dietdoctor.com.

I would like to share with you some USDA information that she used in her summary of why this Netflix piece did not show the real truth.

Over the last 30 years, as rates of obesity and diabetes have risen sharply in the U.S., the consumption of animal foods has declined steeply: whole milk is down 79 percent; red meat by 28 percent and beef by 35 percent; eggs are down by 13 percent and animal fats are down by 27 percent. Meanwhile, consumption of fruits is up by 35 percent and vegetables by 20 percent. All trends therefore point towards Americans shifting from an animal-based diet to a plant-based one, and this data contradict the idea that a continued shift towards plant-based foods will promote health.

You see most studies today are observational studies, meaning they randomly ask people what they have eaten for the past 30 years and then try to tie it to the acceleration of their chosen disease. Teicholzs, on the other hand, has mountains of data and actual science about what is really going on with diet and health in our population.

Furthermore, the most maddening part of this information is she acquired the consumption data directly from the USDA. Yes, this is the same USDA that has continued to provide the misguided directives about reducing fat and protein and ramping up carbs with natural sugars from fruits and vegetables. The truth of the matter is the USDA has had access to all of this factual dietary information for 30 years.

I have become good friends with Teicholz since the release of her book that shares all of her research about diet and disease. The book is The Big Fat Surprise. The really interesting and respectable thing about her is she only has one dog in the fight. She does not come from a farming family with roots in food production. Her only passion was ignited when she was enlightened about the real facts leading to proper health. She developed a conviction that all other Americans need to get on board with after we have all been misled for so many years.

Lets look at the impact of poor nutrition. Our students are not keeping up with students in other countries and people look to blame the public school system. However, all the science clearly states that if you do not feed your brain, your ability to learn is limited. The foundation to improving our nations health and intelligence rests directly on the back of what we eat. We need to feed our kids, feed our families and feed our brains better than we have been.

That is the very reason I believe it is time we ask someone who has studied the science behind diets instead of those who have been following what the last wind of a political storm may have blown in. Look at the facts and the data. We need to change what we are eating and teach Americans the truth about what their bodies need to successfully live, work, play and learn. Teicholz can do that.

Editors note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at http://www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at trentloos@gmail.com.

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Real diet science, not wind storms - High Plains Journal

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PhillyVoice.com

Study: A red wine component has similar anti-aging benefits to diet and exercise PhillyVoice.com Specifically, both resveratrol and metformin have many of the same neuroprotective benefits that come from a low-calorie diet and exercise. Additionally, study researchers found that the wine component, resveratrol, also preserves muscle fibers during ...

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Study: A red wine component has similar anti-aging benefits to diet and exercise - PhillyVoice.com

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Health Check 12 Report: Alzheimer's Disease

Joe Dana, KPNX 6:28 AM. EDT August 14, 2017

Alzheimers disease remains the sixth leading killer of Americans, taking the lives of more than 80,000 each year in the United States. But recent research on the effects of the disease provides clues into treatment, said Honor Health family physician Dr. Jeannine Hinds

Studies show the brains of Alzheimer's patients have plaque, deficits of certain brain chemicals and inflammation. Some of these symptoms are directly or indirectly related to chronic disease like diabetes or high blood pressure," Dr. Hinds said.

The research suggests that a healthy diet can be an important tool to slowing down the effects of Alzheimer's disease, which begins damaging the brain 15 to 20 years before symptoms begin appearing. Researchers believe the cause of Alzheimer's disease may involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

If we can make a diet rich in healthier fats, veggies and anti-oxidants, that helps with the inflammatory process associated Alzheimer's, Dr. Hinds said.

One diet touted by researchers, known as the MIND diet, has shown a correlation with a lower risk of Alzheimers Disease. The diet includes a heavy emphasis on foods like berries, leafygreens, andfish.

Dr. Hinds said treatment of the disease is about management because a cure remains elusive.

"Part of being in medicine is you want to fix people. And this is something we can't fix yet," Dr. Hinds said. "Progress is being made. There is earlier detection. There are better prevention measures in place."

Dr. Hinds said one of the obstacles to effective treatment of Alzheimer's patients remains a lack of education in the community.

Physicians need to a chance to intervene as early as possible, and families should be on the lookout for signs of forgetfulness and mood changes in loved ones. Patients diagnosed earlier are better-equipped to get help.

FDA-approved medications have shown evidence of slowing down the plaque build-up associated with the disease.

"The earlier we can begin helping patients and their families, the better off they will be," Dr. Hinds said.

For some patients, Dr. Hinds also recommends they take part in research studies that may hold secrets for better outcomes.

2017 KPNX-TV

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Research: Diet may help slow effects of Alzheimer's disease - W*USA 9

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The fats we typically supplement as oil are predominately triglycerides, or dietary fats. These fats provide horses with essential fatty acids and fat-soluable vitamins.

Photo: Thinkstock

Society has seen its share of diet crazes, even in the past decade. From low-carb and high-protein to low-fat and high-fiber, trends have come and gone and come again, making food selection challenging. Luckily, horse owners dont have as many options when theyre picking their charges feed. As herbivores, our horses diets must be high-fiber complemented by a commercial product fit to meet their life stage (performance, breeding, growing, etc.). The high-fat diet era began as a way to effectively increase calories without drastically increasing feed volume and, as researchers learn more about the benefit of fats for our four-legged friends, it appears that high-fat diets are here to stay.

Fats and oils are part of a class of molecules called lipids. Structurally, all fats contain the following components:

The fatty acids attached to glycerol vary in length and in how their own carbon molecules are linked. When single bonds link carbon atoms, the fatty acid is considered saturated. Saturated fat originates predominantly from animal fat sources such as tallow. Conversely, when one or more double bonds link the carbon atoms, the fat is unsaturated. Horse diets consist mainly of unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils.

Fats can be found in forages and grains in many forms, including di- and triglycerides, sterols, and phospholipids. The fats we typically supplement as oil are predominantly triglycerides. Each fat type varies significantly in its availability to the horse, which we will discuss later.

Once a horse ingests fat, enzymes (called lipases) in the stomach begin to break it down. A majority of fat digestion takes place in the small intestine, specifically in the duodenum and jejunum. After absorption, fats move along to the liver, adipose tissue, or elsewhere as needed for storage or use. Fats that do not get absorbed in the small intestine travel to the hindgut (the large intestine and colon), where they will be excreted in the feces.

In several studies researchers have found drastic differences in the digestibility of various fat sources in the horses diet. Fats from forages appear to be 55% digestible, whereas fats from oil are 100% digestible. This makes sense, considering that cell wall components more than likely surround the fats in forages and make them less available for digestion.

Researchers have compared the palatability of both animal and plant-based fat sources to horses and found corn oil to be the most acceptable, but other sources can be just as readily consumed. See common sources of fat used in equine diets in the table below:

It is important to understand that there are two types of fats: dietary fats and polyunsaturated fatty acids, says Stewart K. Morgan, DVM, PhD, clinical nutrition resident at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, in Blacksburg. Dietary fats, also known as the triglycerides mentioned earlier, are a concentrated source of dietary energy that provides essential fatty acids (EFAs) and can carry the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Because hydrogen and carbon atoms make up these vitamins structure, they are hydrophobic in nature. Have you heard the saying oil and water dont mix? Hydrophobic literally means water-fearing and describes oils propensity to separate from water. Therefore, fat-soluble vitamins need fats to help transport them across the small intestine. Extremely low-fat diets can potentially reduce fat-soluble vitamin absorption, as seen with decreased vitamin E levels in ponies fed an extremely low-fat diet.

Meanwhile, polyunsaturated fatty acids can be metabolized to form compounds that serve biological functions. These include omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential to the horse, says Morgan.

Horses cannot synthesize EFA on their own and rely on dietary sources to meet their needs. The two most biologically relevant EFAs, -linolenic acid (omega-3) and linoleic acid (omega-6), play a vital role in the immune system, central nervous system, and cell membrane structure, to name a few. The average equine diet tends toward greater omega-3 intakes than omega-6.

In a two-year study conducted at the University of Florida, researchers found that the fat content in bahiagrass (a warm-season pasture grass species) contains 40-55% omega-3 fatty acids and as hay contains 18-35%. Although hay and pasture are low in total fat content, typically offering less than 5%, most of the fat is made up of omega-3 fatty acids, whereas the fat in cereal grains, like what youd find in horse feed, is made up primarily of omega-6 fatty acids.

Morgan says researchers are still trying to determine horses EFA requirements, but there is some evidence that horses might benefit from fatty acid supplementation in certain conditions. Currently, Nutrient Requirements for Horses (2007) suggests horses receive a minimum of 0.5% of dry matter in linoleic acid, equivalent to approximately 50 grams per day for the 1,100-pound horse. Nutritionists have yet to set an exact requirement for -linolenic acid, but horses more than likely consume adequate levels with good-quality forage.

Fats can benefit many aspects of a horses health. Although a typical forage-based equine ration should meet a horses EFA requirements, there are benefits to supplementation under certain conditions, such as meeting a medical need to gain weight, managing inflammatory conditions like heaves and arthritis, or preventing and managing gastric ulcers, Morgan adds. Owners of performance horses, especially those requiring a large amount of digestible energy to support high-intensity performance, feed fats to increase a meals caloric density without also increasing its volume. Lets take a look at the unique benefits of fat unveiled by recent research:

Calories Pound for pound, fat contains 2 times more energy than do carbohydrates. Horses use fat for energy production without needing a drastic increase in feed volume. Broodmares and performance horses, as well as horses below ideal body condition, benefit from fat in their diets.

Some owners supplement with fats such as flaxseed to add shine to their horse's coat.

Photo: iStock

Skin and coat condition Many owners supplement fats to add shine and brilliance to their horses coat. Some supplement with flaxseed oil to improve a horses hair coat, but the efficacy and benefit to an animal fed a forage-based diet has yet to be determined, says Morgan.

Performance and exercise Does adding fat actually improve a horses performance? Its possible. Some of the theories behind fats role in improving performance include reducing feed intake, decreasing heat production during exercise, and sparing muscle glycogen, the storage form of glucose horses need to produce energy. Countless factors affecting performance, including training protocols and conditioning, confound the evidence and make it difficult to know for sure whether fat affects performance.

We do know that in low-intensity, long-duration exercise (think endurance riding), supplementing at least 8% fat appears to keep blood parameters such as glucose and free fatty acids closer to baseline. Researchers have also seen lower levels of plasma lactate in horses performing low-intensity exercise on this diet. These results suggest fat helps decrease carbohydrate use, having a glucose-sparing effect. The same cannot be said for high-intensity exercise, such as racing, in which fat-supplemented horses did not use glycogen any differently than unsupplemented horses. This could mean carbohydrates play a larger role than fats in fueling higher-intensity exercise.

Behavior When comparing calorie sources, some researchers have suggested that replacing typical grain diets or starch content with some fat can potentially reduce horses reactivity. Holland et al. observed less spontaneous activity (distance moved per day) and reactivity in horses fed a diet supplemented with 10% fat than horses fed a control diet with no added fat. In several studies fat-supplemented diets have resulted in decreased cortisol (the stress hormone) levels, even in young, growing horses. Foals fed a fat and fiber diet appeared less stressed and reactive after weaning versus those fed a traditional sweet feed. And in one study out of Spain, scientists found lower cortisol levels and startle reaction intensities when horses consumed high-fat diets versus a sugar and starch control diet.

For stallions there is evidence that diets supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids may improve fertility.

Dr. Stewart K. Morgan

Reproduction Adding fat to pregnant and lactating mares diets can be key to controlling meal volume when the high calorie requirements during early lactation mean feeding more concentrate per day. For broodmares, the fatty acid profile of broodmare milk is influenced by the fatty acid profile of the diet, and for stallions there is evidence that diets supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids may improve fertility, says Morgan. In fact, in studies, stallions supplemented with fish oil high in omega-3 fatty acids showed improved sperm production and motility over control stallions.

Tying-Up Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER) and polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) are two equine muscle disorders. In Thoroughbreds with RER, substituting fat for starch in the diet actually reduced excitability and nervousness, known triggers for RER-prone horses, along with heart rate. Serum creatine kinase, an indicator of muscle breakdown, also decreased. Owners of horses with PSSM can lower the risk of tying-up episodes by feeding fat to reduce and replace glucose uptake and abnormal glycogen breakdown.

Gastric ulcers Substituting fat for nonstructural carbohydrates as a calorie source appears to help horses prone to gastric ulcers. Though theres a lack of research in this area, we know that fat delays gastric emptying and reduces gastric acid production and could theoretically reduce gastric ulcer severity.

Insulin resistance Says Tanja Hess, MV, MSc, PhD, associate professor in equine sciences at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in horses may improve insulin sensitivity (the bodys responsiveness to insulin signaling the removal of glucose from the blood) in insulin-resistant mares, as shown by a trend for improved insulin sensitivity in resistant mares supplemented with flaxseed or a marine supplement containing eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (forms of omega-3 fatty acids).

She also described a study (Brennan et al.) in which supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid decreased basal insulin and glucose in horses with dexamethasone-induced insulin resistance.

Metabolism When mature horses consumed high-fat meals, as opposed to meals high in non-structural carbohydrates, researchers saw a decrease in both blood glycemic and insulinemic responses.

Its important to take caution when feeding a high-fat diet to ponies, however, especially when feeding above their caloric intakes. Researchers in Germany observed higher plasma glucose and insulin concentrations after an oral glucose test in Shetland ponies fed high-fat diets. Higher insulin levels combined with elevated glucose implies that a pony is insulin resistant. Also, avoid supplementing fat in diets for any horse or pony prone to hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the bloodstream), as this condition can be fatal.

How long does it take to see these physiological changes associated with feeding fat or individual fatty acids? Nutritionists say a minimum of 10 to 12 weeks, although some researchers have reported changes in three to five weeks time. Consistent feeding is key to seeing results.

Dietary fats and essential fatty acids help meet a horses daily nutrient requirements but potentially provide other health benefits, as well. Morgan says that in any situation, horse owners should consult with an equine nutritionist to determine if and when they should add dietary fat or fatty acids to their horses diet.

Kristen M. Janicki, a lifelong horsewoman, was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences from the attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later attended graduate school at the University of Kentucky, studying under Dr. Laurie Lawrence in the area of Equine Nutrition. Kristen began her current position as a performance horse nutritionist for Mars Horsecare, US, Inc., and Buckeye Nutrition, in 2010. Her job entails evaluating and improving the performance of the sport horse through proper nutrition.

Link:
Fats: Not Just an Equine Diet Fad - TheHorse.com

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