Exercise for the Aging Brain

from Personal Fitness Professional, by Cody Sipe 

Dementia is one of, if not the greatest concern among older adults, and with the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease on the rise, it is a valid one. It is anticipated that the worldwide cases of Alzheimer’s disease will increase from 46.8 million in 2015 to 131.5 million in 2050 (World Alzheimer’s Report 2015). Most, if not all, older adults would rather die earlier than live an extra 5-10 years unable to recognize their loved ones and having to be taken care of. This fear has helped create a global business sector centered on “brain training” apps, software, games… even Sudoku and crossword puzzles. But do they work? And can exercise be used as an effective intervention to improve cognitive function?

The research overwhelmingly suggests that cognitive function in old age is primarily due to lifestyle factors rather than the aging process. Nutrition, stress, environment, physical activity, relationships and other factors have an impact on cognition as we get older. Risk factors for cognitive decline include age, genetics, insulin resistance/diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, smoking and amyloid plaques (Baumgart et al 2016). Although some individuals will suffer from memory loss or even develop dementia, these are not normal parts of the aging process as many older adults remain mentally sharp throughout their whole life.

Most studies assessing the effects of cognitive task training have used computerized brain training software (games). The data indicates that computerized cognitive training improves certain cognitive domains a small to moderate degree with no significant effects in executive functions. It is also clear that only the trained cognitive process improves with no transfer effects, meaning that other related cognitive processes do not improve (Ballesteros et al 2015). The largest cognitive study to date, the ACTIVE study, assigned people to one of three cognitive training groups: memory; speed of process; or reasoning. In all three groups the skill that was trained significantly improved with no transfer to untrained functions or to everyday activities.

Exercise has been identified as one of the best ways to improve cognitive function and is probably better than playing any of the brain games that have become so popular. Several recent systematic reviews (Bamidis et al 2014; Ballesteros et al 2015; Hotting et al 2013; Szuhany et al 2015) have investigated the relationship of exercise to cognition and have made the following conclusions:

1). Resistance exercise stimulates the production of Immuno-Globulin Factor 1 (IGF1).

2). Cardiovascular and resistance exercise improve executive function the most (strategic planning, mental flexibility, inhibitory control, problem solving and working memory).

3). Cardiovascular exercise of sufficient intensity (60-75% max heart rate) and frequency can significantly elevate brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

4). Low BDNF levels are linked to Alzheimer’s disease, accelerated aging, obesity and depression.

5). Cardiovascular and resistance exercise have a synergistic effect on brain function likely due to stimulating the brain via different pathways (BDNF and IGF1) and maximizing neurogenesis, synaptogenesis and angiogenesis.

6). Computer based-brain games can improve the functions of the brain used during training tasks, but there is no carryover effect to other cognitive functions.

7). The “sweet spot” where the best outcomes occur seems to be activities that combine physical exertion with mental challenge, such as learning a new sport.

8). The research confirms that physical activity and exercise are keys to maintaining high levels of cognition and reduce risk of dementia with advancing age.

There are many ways to stimulate neuroplasticity during training. One key is to continually introduce new skills and movement patterns into the routine. Increase movement complexity regularly and often. For example, instead of practicing the same stepping (agility) pattern every session, use a different stepping pattern every time. Another key is to play. Have fun, laugh, use your imagination and basically act like a kid again. Introduce games that require physical movement such as hop scotch or Red Light, Green Light and incorporate an element of fun. Finally, encourage your clients to continually learn new physical skills – play a sport or instrument; paint or sculpt; take dancing lessons.

Exercise for older adults is about much more than just losing weight and building muscle. According to the Functional Aging Training Model developed by the Functional Aging Institute, it is important to address all primary domains of overall functional ability including: cognitive/emotional; neuromuscular; musculoskeletal; cardiorespiratory; balance and mobility. It is possible to create exercise programs that will keep your older clients functional and mentally sharp for years to come.

To Delay Death, Lift Weights

Two new studies remind of what we already know, but sometimes forget
by Alex Hutchineson, from Sweat Science from Outside e-zine:

Trust me, I understand—in theory—that I should be stronger. Yes, I’m an aerobic beast (or an aerobic addict, if you prefer), but I’m not oblivious to the benefits of having a reasonable amount of muscle. When I play the “look, you’re touching the ceiling!” game with my 18-month-old, I’d prefer that she get bored before I have to admit that Daddy can’t military-press her anymore. And I’m hoping that 20 years from now I’ll still be able to push myself out of an armchair without help.
But there’s a gap between “should” and “do.” This gap is one of the most vexing riddles in public health, and even people like me, who spend their days telling other people what they should be doing, aren’t immune to it.

For that reason, I’m always eager for reminders of what’s at stake—and two new papers offer some eye-opening insights into the benefits of strength training, even for people who consistently blow the aerobic exercise guidelines out of the water.

The first is an analysis of the link between strength, muscle mass, and mortality, from a team at Indiana University using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The design was pretty straightforward: They assessed 4,440 adults ages 50 or up who had their strength and muscle mass assessed between 1999 and 2002. The researchers checked back in 2011 to see who had died.

For muscle mass, they used a DEXA scanner to determine that 23 percent of the subjects met one definition of “low muscle mass,” with total muscle in the arms and legs adding up to less than 43.5 pounds in men or 33 pounds in women. For strength, they used a device that measures maximum force of the knee extensors (the muscles that allow you to straighten your knee) and found that 19 percent of the subjects had low muscle strength.

The results, published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, found that those with low muscle strength were more than twice as likely to have died during the follow-up period than those with normal muscle strength. In contrast, having low muscle mass didn’t seem to matter as much.

Marlene's Note: Fro you folks who like charts (like me...),  here's one from that study. Be sure to read your legends (below) carefully).

Here’s what the results look like. LMM is low muscle mass, and LMS is low muscle strength: 
The reference group, on the right side in the front, is those without either condition. In comparison, those with both conditions were 2.66 times as likely to die during the study. Having low muscle mass but normal strength, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be such a bad thing.

The message here? Function matters more than what you look like. That doesn’t mean you can afford to let your muscle melt away as you age; having a good reserve of muscle mass may be important, for example, if you end up having to spend time in the hospital at some point. But it’s good news for those of us who struggle to put on muscle but persist in slogging through a reasonable number of pull-ups and other strength exercises.

The other study took aim at the perception that strength training is an afterthought in public health guidelines. Most of us remember that we’re supposed to get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Reams of data support the beneficial health effects of hitting this goal.

But the guidelines also suggest doing “strength-promoting exercise” at least twice a week—a clause that’s often forgotten and the benefits of which are usually framed in terms of avoiding frailty and improving quality of life, rather than actually extending it.

Researchers in Australia analyzed data from 80,000 adults in England and Scotland who completed surveys about their physical activity patterns starting in the 1990s. The headline result was that those who reported doing any strength training were 23 percent less likely to die during the study period and 31 percent less likely to die of cancer. Meeting the guidelines by strength training twice a week offered a little extra benefit.

One interesting (and, for me, reassuring) detail: Strength training in a gym and doing bodyweight exercises seemed to confer roughly equivalent benefits. So you don’t necessarily need to heave around large quantities of iron.

In this particular cohort, the benefits of meeting only the strength-training guidelines seemed to be roughly equivalent to meeting only the aerobic-training guidelines—at least in terms of overall mortality. However, strength training didn’t confer any protection against heart disease. There’s some evidence that strength training may reduce blood pressure but increase artery stiffness, effectively canceling out the heart benefits. This study can’t answer that question, but the findings do suggest that ditching aerobic exercise entirely may not be optimal. And indeed, the best outcomes of all—a 29 percent reduction in mortality risk during the study—accrued to those who met both the aerobic and strength-training guidelines.

So, in summary, strength training is good for you. Does that really tell you anything you didn’t know? Perhaps not.

That said, a few months ago, I wrote about a study in which runners received automated online advice to help them avoid injuries. The advice seemed painfully obvious: Listen to your body, don’t increase pace and volume too suddenly, and so on. But it worked. Injuries were reduced by 13.1 percent. That’s more or less what I’m hoping for by writing this piece, for all of us: that a reminder of something obvious, bolstered by fresh evidence, will help me continue to do what I know I should.

Your Holiday Survival Guide: The Fitness and Nutrition Edition 6 simple ways to help stick to your plan during the busy party season

By John Berardi, Ph.D.

Holiday preparations, family visits, and epic meals… end-of-the-year festivities can make it feel impossible to avoid skipping workouts, gaining weight, and landing on January 1st with a momentous food, beverage, and celebration hangover. That’s why I put together this Holiday Survival Guide.

It’s packed with the tips and tricks we use to help you prioritize health, fitness, and nutrition no matter what life — including the holidays — throws at you. Life can be calm and collected. Or it can be frenetic and crazy. The holidays, of course, offer a healthy dose of the latter.

Indeed, my wife and I have four little children — although it sometimes sounds like 97 of them — plus big extended families who like to visit for the festivities. Oh, you should see our house. Minions and princesses everywhere, bits of craft projects stuck to every surface, groceries to be put away, meals to be cooked and eaten, towels to be washed, and so many kids to be bathed and tucked in for sleep.

It’s really fun and it challenges our preferred eating and exercise schedules. Yet, over the years, we’ve gotten really good at eating and exercising how we want, even during the holidays. There are some modifications, of course.

I’ve passed these strategies along to people to help them get the most health and fitness — along with fun and joy — out of their own holiday seasons. Towards that end, here’s a Holiday Survival Guide” for you.  

We often say that your food and fitness strategies should be designed for your most hectic days — not just the easy, or perfect, ones. Use these tips to eat and move more intentionally during the holiday season. I promise you’ll be feeling strong, confident, and in control no matter how frantic your days.

Holiday Survival Tool #1: Eat slowly and to “satisfied” instead of “stuffed”
The most effective (and sanity-preserving) tool for holiday eating may also be the simplest one: Eat slowly. (And stop at “satisfied”, instead of “stuffed”). This strategy helps you avoid overeating for two main reasons:

Physiological: It takes 15-20 min for your digestive system to let your brain know that you’re satisfied. Slowing down a meal allows that to happen before you overeat.

Psychological: When you slow down, “sense into”, and savor your food, you feel content with much less. This means you’ll eat less but enjoy what you’ve eaten more.

Indeed, when eating slowly (and stopping at “satisfied” instead of “stuffed”) you can try all the delicious foods on Grandma’s buffet without guilt or needing to “work it off later”. 

Holiday Survival Tool #2: Take small, basic steps to exercise even when you’re busy. It’s one of the most common patterns we see: Folks who want to get (and/or stay) fit will exercise diligently for months, only to get derailed by the holidays and “fall off the wagon” for the entire year. That’s why it’s best to construct a simple “maintenance” workout, which you can do no matter where the holidays take you.

This plan should take only a few minutes a day, require minimal or no equipment, and it focus on compound exercises (big muscles, big movements). This will make it very effective when you want a good movement session but have limited time.

Holiday Survival Tool #3: Eating well on the go. 
The end of the year has most people bouncing from supermarket to mall to party to recital — not to mention the planes, trains, and automobiles routine if you’re traveling. When you’re on the go, it can feel like navigating a nutritional minefield: Hunger signals overpowering, junk food everywhere, little time to sit down and eat your veggies. Challenging, of course, but not impossible. With smart strategies you can eat well on the go no matter where life takes you.

Holiday Survival Tool #4: Make the perfect Super Shake

What’s a Super Shake? It’s a nutrient-packed, delicious, liquid meal that you can whip up and drink while you help a 4-year-old glue googly eyes on felt reindeers. You see, letting yourself get too hungry is one of the best ways to end up over-drinking and overeating. And during the holidays, you don’t always have the time to prep a nice, balanced plate of protein, veggies, fruit, and healthy fats.

Holiday Survival Tool #5: The best calorie control guide 
Want to get through the holidays without losing strength? Without gaining extra weight and body fat? That’s all possible. Sure, it’ll feel difficult with all that calorie-dense food in front of you. But your health can survive another year of Mom’s mostly-butter mashed potatoes and Aunt Marie’s pumpkin bourbon cheesecake if you just eat slowly and pay attention to portions.

No, no… not calorie counting. That’s often annoying, impractical, and inaccurate, especially at Christmas dinner. So try the “hand measure” system instead.

   Do this, eat it slowly, and you’ll have a nutritionally portioned, filling, energy creating plate of chow!

Holiday Survival Tool #6: Love your veggies! Another effective strategy to avoid gaining weight and body fat during the holidays? Eat lots and lots of veggies. They’re water-dense, fiber-dense, calorie-sparse, and full of the nutrients you need to keep your energy and mood up for holiday party #17. The only problem? Many folks don’t love the taste of veggies, especially compared to hyper-palatable holiday food.

The Pro-Truth Pledge

An Effective Strategy for Skeptics to Fight Fake News and Post-Truth Politics

BY GLEB TSIPURSKY

How do we get politicians to stop lying? How do we get private citizens to stop sharing fake news on social media? Deception proved such a successful strategy for political causes and individual candidates in the UK and US elections in 2016 that the Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” as its word of the year, with the definition of “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” The extensive sharing of fake news by private citizens led Collins Dictionary to choose “fake news” as its word of the year for 2017, meaning “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting.”

We are facing a nightmare scenario. For many years now, traditional gatekeepers for ensuring the veracity of public information—news media, civic leaders, authorities on various topics—have been trusted less and less. Social and digital media have only accelerated this trend, exemplifying the potential of technological disruption to undermine our democracy.

Fortunately, if we can create a mechanism that differentiates the liars from the truth-tellers, we have a hope of protecting our democracy. At the same time, tilting the scale toward truth requires addressing the psychological factors that cause people to tolerate untruths. Using research from behavioral science research about what causes people to lie and what motivates them to tell the truth, a number of behavioral scientists (including myself) and concerned citizens have launched the Pro-Truth Pledge at ProTruthPledge.org, which combines our knowledge of behavioral science with crowdsourcing to promote truth-oriented behavior.

The pledge is meant for both public figures and private citizens to sign. So far, thousands of private citizens across the globe and several hundred public figures and organizations signed it, including globally-known public intellectuals such as Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker, Peter Singer and Michael Shermer. You might be especially surprised that many dozens of politicians have signed it as well. […]

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4 Mood Boosters

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a combination of biological and mood disturbances typically occurring in the autumn and winter months. SAD is characterized by recurrent episodes of depression, hypersomnia, carbohydrate cravings and weight gain.

About 5 percent of the U.S. population experiences SAD, with symptoms present for about 40 percent of the year, depending on where you live.

There are a number of common mainstream medically-based treatment options, but there are also a number of lifestyle changes that can be effective by increasing serotonin, a mood stabilizing neurochemical.

Mood Boosting Strategies:
1.       Diet
2.       Exercise
3.       Sunlight
4.       Supplements

Diet: Individuals with SAD frequently report carbohydrate cravings and note that carbohydrate ingestion energizes them. In a study by Rosenthal, et al. depressed SAD patients and matched controls were fed two different equal-calorie meals, one rich in protein and one rich in carbohydrates. The SAD patients reported activation following carbohydrate ingestion, whereas normal controls reported sedation.

Simple carbohydrate consumption can result in a temporary elevation in mood, however, elimination of the simple carbohydrates and refined sugar from the diet can result in a more permanent solution for mood stabilization. The proposed mechanism by which carbohydrates exert their mood altering effect is through their influence on serotonin metabolism.

     Intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in cold water fish such as wild salmon, can affect mood via modification of neuronal cell membrane fluidity and the consequent impact on neurotransmitter function. Polyphenols, natural compounds found in plant-based foods that possess antioxidant properties, can reduce oxidative stress and aid in synaptic function. Because polyphenols have numerous mechanisms in the brain that can affect cognitive and mental health, a diet high in polyphenols (fruits and vegetables) can be used as a strategy to combat cognitive and psychiatric disorders.

Exercise: Exercise is an effective tool to ease depression due to:
   1). The release of “feel-good” brain chemicals including serotonin, endorphins and endocannabinoids
   2). The reduction of specific immune system chemicals, such as cytokines
   3). An increase in body temperature, which can have calming effects
The psychological effects of regular exercise include:
   1). Increases in self-confidence- Getting in shape can make you feel better about yourself
   2). Provides a distraction from the cycle of negative thoughts that can fuel anxiety and depression
   3). Facilitates social interaction, which can improve your mood
   4). Provides a healthy coping strategy
Utilizing moderate to intense aerobic activity has a large and significant antidepressant effect and is strongly supported as an evidence-based treatment element for depression. Middle-aged women participating in resistance training exercise have lower levels of depression and anxiety in relation to sedentary counterparts.

Natural Sunlight; Outdoor light exposure is a potential alternative or adjuvant to conventional artificial light therapy in SAD. Individuals with seasonal affective disorder were treated for 1 week either with a daily 1-hour morning walk outdoors or low-dose artificial light. The latter treatment did not improve any of the depression self-ratings, whereas natural light exposure improved all self-ratings.

Supplements
   Fish Oil: A meta-analysis of 13 randomized clinical trials concluded that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, found naturally in fatty fish, has a beneficial effect in patients with major depressive disorder.
   Hypericum: Hypericum perforatum (HP) is one of the oldest used and most extensively investigated medicinal herbs. Various clinical trials have shown that HP has a comparable antidepressant effect as some currently used antidepressant drugs used in the treatment of mild to moderate depression and certain forms of anxiety.
   Probiotics: In the last decade, research has revealed an extensive communication network between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system, known as the “gut–brain axis.” Advances in this field have linked psychiatric disorders to changes in the microbiome, making it a potential target for treating mood disorders.
   Vitamin D: SAD is prevalent when vitamin D stores are low. A prospective, randomized controlled trial found that increasing serum 25-OH D to more optimum levels was associated with significant improvement in depression and that vitamin D may be an important treatment for SAD.

Summary of tips to beat SAD: Increase omega-3 fats and vitamin D rich foods (e.g., salmon, tuna, sardines, egg yolks and mushrooms).

Eat foods high in B6, B12, folate and magnesium to support serotonin production (e.g., leafy greens, avocados, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, chicken, salmon, sardines, shrimp, lamb, beef, liver, non-fortified brewer’s yeast, and dark chocolate)

   1). Enhance immune health with selenium rich foods (e.g., Brazil nuts and tuna)
   2). Focus on foods high in polyphenols (e.g., organic blueberries, cranberries, blackberries and raspberries, organic dark cocoa, and antioxidant spices, such as cinnamon and turmeric)
   3). Eat more animal protein for the tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin (e.g., grass-fed beef, free range poultry, wild seafoodand pastured eggs)
   4). Consume foods high in probiotics to support the gut-brain axis (e.g., sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha and grass-fed cultured dairy products like kefir and yogurt)
   5). Eat low glycemic carbohydrates and avoid white bread, pasta, rice, sugar and processed foods that cause a sugar “high” and subsequent crash
   6). Incorporate high intensity aerobic training and resistance training
   7). Get outside for a walk 30-60 minutes during the day
Consider supplements as an alternative to pharmacotherapy, under the supervision of a qualified healthcare provider

The Wizardry of Freud

BY MARGARET SCHEMER

“Clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging claim.”

The above is from a 2011 British Medical Journal article about Andrew Wakefield, the British physician whose “discovery” of a link between vaccination and autism fueled a world wide anti-vaccination movement. Since its publication in 1998, the paper’s results were contradicted by many reputable scientific studies, and in 2011 Wakefield’s work was proved to be not only bad science but a fraud as well: a British court found him guilty of dishonestly misrepresenting his data, removed him from the roster of the British Medical Society, and disbarred him from practice.

In his new book, Freud: The Making of an Illusion, Frederick Crews presents a Freud who was just such a fraud and who deserves the same fate. This is not the first time that Crews, a bona fide skeptic whose last book, Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays (2007), was reviewed in the pages of this journal, has written critically about Freud. Crews had been drawn to psychoanalysis himself (disclosure: this reviewer was, too) in the 1960s and early 1970s when, along with the late Norman Holland, he pretty much created the field of psychoanalytic literary criticism. But a prestigious fellowship to the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (he was a professor of English at UC Berkeley at the time) gave him time to delve deeper into Freud, and convinced him instead that psychoanalysis was unscientific and untenable. Since then he has contributed to the growing skeptical scholarly and historical scholarship on Freud.

Psychoanalysis is not only pseudo-science (as most philosophers of science agree, though for different reasons), but “the queen of pseudo-sciences”.

Philosophers of science have indicted key concepts of Freud’s psychoanalysis such as “free association,” “repression,” and “resistance” as circular and fatally flawed by confirmation bias. Historians have tracked down the actual patients whose treatment served Freud as evidence for his theories and have sought to place Freud and his theories in the historical and cultural context of his time. Crews—to his own surprise—became well known as a major, if not the major, critic of Freud in the public eye because of a series of articles he published in the New York Review of Books in the 1990s. For Crews is that now all too rare and rapidly disappearing creature—the public intellectual—who is able to explain and make accessible an otherwise unwieldy amount of erudite scholarship in clear, elegant, and jargon-free prose. Defenders of Freud have sought to discredit him as a “Freud basher,” thereby continuing the (not so honorable) tradition that Freud began of questioning the motives of a skeptic and attributing it to “resistance” instead of answering his objections. […]

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So, What’s In Movie Theater Popcorn Butter, Anyways? (Spoiler Alert: It’s not butter)

From the “Well Done” E-zine.

If you are a fan of movie theater popcorn with movie theater butter, you might want to stop reading now.  Remember back in those halcyon days when you had no idea how many calories were in a #2 Quarter Pounder with Cheese value meal, or how many grams of fat were in that pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream? Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss (even if that “bliss” doesn’t bear any resemblance to reality…). You may not always want to know how the sausage is made, you feel me? If so, turn away, and go read a recipe for making French toast out of leftover pizza or something.

Are they gone? Good. Now let’s you and I talk.

I have written before on my deep and important relationship with popcorn. Sweet fancy Moses, I even put it in scrambled eggs. And while my favorite will always be the corn I pop at home, there is something so nostalgic and wonderful about movie theater popcorn. I don’t go to the movies that often, but when I do, there is a bucket of corn situation for certain. I can plow through a large bucket by myself if the movie is long enough and lunch a distant-enough memory. But I have never liked the movie theater butter. It is always so greasy, so rich, it diminishes the popcorn experience for me.

I never thought much about that movie theater butter because I didn’t eat it, and so did not care what was contained within. But in college, working for a student organization that planned and executed all the social programming for the campus, I came face to face with movie theater popcorning. We did movie nights on Fridays and Sundays, and we all had to take turns manning the concession stand where we, like every theater, really made our money. So, I had to learn how to make movie theater popcorn.

Enter cartons of Flavacol and Butter Flavored Topping. Yeah. That’s not the same as butter at all. Flavacol is the yellow powder that gets added during popping to give your popcorn that yellow buttery color. It is essentially just a super-fine salt with some coloring agents, although people swear it has butter flavor, even though there are no extra flavorings in it.  But Butter Flavored Topping? That is a whole other story.

Your movie theater butter has no butter in it, but it does have partially hydrogenated soybean oil (a.k.a. trans fats), beta carotene (a coloring, makes carrots orange), tertiary Butylhydroquinone or TBHQ (synthetic preservative that keeps the color and texture from changing as the product sits), polydimethylsiloxane (silicone based chemical that prevents foaming).

And, wait for it, buttery flavoring. They do not say what exactly makes a buttery flavoring, but they do admit that it isn’t butter. So, it is some sort of chemical that mimics butter.

And the part that is most egregious to me? Movie theater “butter” topping actually has 20 more calories per tablespoon than real butter. Never mind the whole trans fat, bad cholesterol, chemically laden, artificially flavored part, it is also 20 percent more caloric? That's adding insult to injury.  Especially since a large bucket contains a minimum of three tablespoons, and as much as six if you have them do the butter on half of the corn before filling up and more butter on top. That could also take your large corn into the over 2000-calorie realm.  Up from the about 1000 calories for a plain. This becomes doubled, and in just fat and chemicals.

I hope that if you stayed with this it is either because you don’t like fake oily butter flavored topping on your movie snack, or because you deep-down wanted some good reasons to just say no when that gawky teenager asks if you want butter on that. Because even if you want butter on that, you don’t want the pseudo butter poser they are offering. And if you are a movie theater butter fan who just couldn’t resist, I hope that I haven’t ruined your popcorn future. You can’t say you weren’t warned.