Obstructive Sleep Apnea Exposed: The Hidden Dangers & How to Avoid Them

0:00 obstructive sleep apnea, if not treated can lead to a wide range of disorders or systemic illnesses like hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, so it's important to get this diagnose and treat it. So what exactly is obstructive sleep apnea or OSA? It's a very common problem affecting millions of people. It's characterized typically by daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, breathing interruptions and awakenings. This is due to gasping or choking during sleep and this gasping or choking is really due to a partial or complete collapse of the upper airway during sleep. There are several risk factors that contribute to sleep apnea, some of which are male sex, older age being overweight or obese neck girth, snoring, frequent breathing pauses, but obesity appears to be the strongest risk factor for OSA as your body mass index increases, the prevalence of sleep apnea also tends to arise. In this particular study, what they did was they looked at a group of 104 patients who were diagnosed with Osa and they had them complete a validated dietary survey. And what they did was they looked at the association between their diets and the severity of the conditions and they came across with some interesting conclusions. The first thing they noted were that overweight subjects who consumed a high fat diet with more than 35% of their total diet consisting of saturated fats, like those found in cheese, or meats had twice the severity of sleep apnea compared to those who had a lower fat intake. In addition, what they found was there's a strong trend, suggesting that sleep apnea severity was higher in subjects who consume processed meats often has in comparison to those who ate them rarely or never. And then they also found that individuals who are eating more than two servings of dairy products per day are associated with the worsening severity of sleep apnea. Now, I generally recommend avoiding dairy as many individuals can't process lactose effectively and therefore develop gi disturbances like diarrhea, gas or upset stomach. There are some studies that have shown a correlation between increased consumption of dairy in higher rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer as well as heart disease. However, the biggest thing I see is that dairy tends to cause a lot of mucus production, it just seems to cause a lot of nasal pharyngeal screech. So those are secretions in your nose and the back of your throat. And I've seen a lot of patients note a lower incidence of sinus infections as well as seasonal allergy symptoms when they eliminate dairy from their diet. So anyway, in summary, the study suggested that certain dietary components such as increased fat intake and processed meats, may be associated with increased risk of sleep apnea severity, and the author's recommended reducing saturated fat intake and replacing it with healthy monounsaturated fats are polyunsaturated fats like those found in nuts or certain oils like olive oil or flaxseed oil. They also noted that consuming more than two servings of dairy foods daily was linked to increased severity of sleep apnea, and presentation for over eight subjects. If you or someone you know is struggling from sleep apnea. It's important to consult with a health care professional to accurately diagnose yourself you don't want to be at risk for the illnesses that I mentioned previously, like heart disease or stroke or hypertension or even diabetes right also, making some dietary changes in weight loss could have be of some benefit. So don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel for some more interesting topics and longevity space. Until next time, sleep well and take care