Recent Longevity News for the week ending 4/18/18

Consuming more than five drinks a week could shorten your life - Science Daily, 4/13/18 - "The upper safe limit of drinking was about five drinks per week (100g of pure alcohol, 12.5 units or just over five pints of 4% ABV beer or five 175ml glasses of 13% ABV wine). However, drinking above this limit was linked with lower life expectancy. For example, having 10 or more drinks per week was linked with one to two years shorter life expectancy. Having 18 drinks or more per week was linked with four to five years shorter life expectancy."

Parental Cannabis Use Tied to Child Psychosis Risk - Medscape, 4/11/18 - "cannabis use was linked to a 38% increased risk for psychotic symptoms in offspring at 10 years of age; cannabis use among fathers was associated with a 44% increased risk"

Sex, Intimacy Improved on Sacubitril/Valsartan in Heart Failure - Medscape, 4/10/18 - "Improvements over 36 months were most pronounced in domains that reflected being able to work, do household chores or recreational activities, climb stairs, and have intimate and sexual relationships ... It's kind of saying these patients are feeling as if they are 9 years younger"

• 10 Things to Know About New Heart Failure Med Entresto - goodrx.com - "Sacubitril is the newer half of Entresto. Bear with me for some details. Inhibiting neprilysin raises levels of several peptides (small proteins) that have beneficial effects on blood flow in patients with HF. Remember that low cardiac output (low blood flow because the heart can’t squeeze well) is the main problem in heart failure. Saccubitril, the neprilysin inhibitor in Entresto, improves blood flow to the kidneys and improves removal of fluid (diuresis), among other things."
• Entresto: Are You Ready To Trade Heart Failure For Alzheimer’s? - The Daily Health, 11/16/16 - "One of the key ingredients in Entresto – known as sacubitril – prevents the enzyme that breaks down amyloid beta plaques from doing its job. If these amyloid beta plaques are not broken down properly they can accumulate in our brains and can cause dementia and Alzheimer’s ... So while Entresto promises to be a silver bullet for your heart, it could also be a bullet through your brain!"

Why Americans' Life Expectancy Is Getting Longer - WebMD, 4/6/18 -  "This is the first evidence we have of delayed 'aging' among a national sample of Americans ... To calculate biological age, the researchers used several benchmarks for metabolism, inflammation, organ function, blood pressure and breath capacity ... Life extension without changing the aging rate will have detrimental implications. Medical care costs will rise, as people spend a higher proportion of their lives with disease and disability ... extending life span by slowing down the aging process should reduce health care costs and lead to higher productivity and greater well-being"

Pasta Promotes Weight Loss as Part of a Low-Glycemic Index Diet - Medscape, 4/6/18 - "Pasta is an important example of a food that is considered a refined carbohydrate but has a low GI ... Pooled analyses again support a beneficial effect of pasta within the context of a low-GI diet on body mass index, where body mass index dropped by 0.26 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval, −0.36 to −0.16 kg/m2; P < .001) compared with higher-GI control diets"

Common diabetes drug may also help with nicotine withdrawal - Science Daily, 4/5/18 - "investigators say metformin, an inexpensive drug commonly used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes, appears to block symptoms of nicotine withdrawal in rodents ... the research suggests that metformin, because of its long-term record of safety and relative lack of side effects, has "real potential" as a smoking cessation aid if clinical trials confirm the findings in mice" - See metformin at the Antiaging Store.

Beta-Blockers May Raise Mortality in People With Diabetes - Medscape, 4/5/18 - "Among those with diabetes, all-cause death event rates per 1000 person-years were 40.6 for those taking beta-blockers versus 17.1 for those not taking them. Among participants without diabetes, those rates were 13.8 and 5.9, respectively"

Time to Ditch ACE Inhibitors for CVD? - Medscape, 4/5/18 - "There is "little, if any, clinical reason" to use angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for the treatment of hypertension or other cardiovascular indications because angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are just as effective with fewer side effects"

Marijuana Use Tied to Fatal Car Crashes - NYT, 4/4/18 - "April 20 has become known as a day to celebrate the pleasures of marijuana consumption with parties that traditionally begin at 4:20 p.m. ... Before 4:20 p.m. there was no difference between the number of fatalities on April 20 and the number on the nearby dates. But from 4:20 p.m. to midnight, there was a 12 percent increased risk of a fatal car crash on April 20 compared with the control dates" - Note: That 12% increase is huge when you consider that only a small percentage celebrate that date and time.

Bananas vs. Sports Drinks? Bananas Win in Study - NYT, 4/4/18 - "It found that a banana, with its all-natural package, provides comparable or greater anti-inflammatory and other benefits for athletes than sports drinks. But there may be a downside, and it involves bloating"

Use of Hyaluronic Acid–based Biological Bilaminar Matrix in Wound Bed Preparation - Medscape, 4/4/18 - "This case series shows a strong trend for Hyalomatrix to play an important role in supporting wound healing in complex, surgical wounds" - See Hyalomatrix at Amazon.com and hyaluronic acid at Amazon.com.

Older Age, Long-term Antibiotic Use Linked to Mortality Risk - Medscape, 4/2/18 - "women who used antibiotics for 2 months or longer were 27% more likely to die of all causes and were as much as 57% more likely to die of cardiovascular causes compared with those with no antibiotic use ... Antibiotic use has been linked with changes to the gut microbiome that can in fact last for years, while infections from antibiotic resistances remain an ever-increasing concern" - See  probiotic products at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

Long-haul flights, edema, and thrombotic events: prevention with stockings and Pycnogenol® supplementation (LONFLIT Registry Study) - Minerva Cardioangiol. 2018 Apr;66(2):152-159 - "This registry study indicates that Pycnogenol supplementation reduces edema and may control some thrombotic events" - [Nutra USA] - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com.

Distinct effects of resveratrol on seizures and hyperexcitability induced by NMDA and 4-aminopyridine - Nutr Neurosci. 2018 Apr 12:1-11 - "These findings suggest that resveratrol might be capable of protecting against the seizure types related to neuronal excitability and progression mediated by NMDA receptor activation, but not suitable for the seizures caused by disturbance of the voltage-dependent potassium channels" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Conversion of curcumin into heterocyclic compounds as potent anti-diabetic and anti-histamine agents - Biol Pharm Bull. 2018 Apr 12 - "Our results concluded that Curcumin pyrmidinones and pyranone derivatives have highly effects as anti-diabetic and anti-histamine activities" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Vitamin C intake in relation to bone mineral density and risk of hip fracture and osteoporosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies - Br J Nutr. 2018 Apr;119(8):847-858 - "Greater dietary vitamin C intake was associated with a lower risk of hip fracture and osteoporosis, as well as higher BMD, at femoral neck and lumbar spine" - See vitamin C products at Amazon.com.

Eating frequency is inversely associated with BMI, waist circumference and the proportion of body fat in Korean adults when diet quality is high, but not when it is low: analysis of the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV) - Br J Nutr. 2018 Apr;119(8):918-927 - "EF was inversely associated with each obesity indicator, including body fat percentage (BF%), BMI and waist circumference (WC), showing a significant linear trend (P<0·001 for BF%, WC and BMI)"

Lutein and Zeaxanthin Are Positively Associated with Visual-Spatial Functioning in Older Adults: An fMRI Study - Nutrients. 2018 Apr 7;10(4) - "Our findings suggest that L and Z may impact brain health and cognition in older adults by enhancing neurobiological efficiency in a variety of regions that support visual perception and decision-making" - See astaxanthin at Amazon.comand lutein at Amazon.com.

n-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation in Mothers, Preterm Infants, and Term Infants and Childhood Psychomotor and Visual Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - J Nutr. 2018 Mar 1;148(3):409-418 - "n-3 PUFA supplementation improves childhood psychomotor and visual development, without significant effects on global IQ later in childhood, although the latter conclusion is based on fewer studies" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Coffee Consumption and Coronary Artery Calcium Score: Cross-Sectional Results of ELSA-Brasil (Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health) - J Am Heart Assoc. 2018 Mar 24;7(7) - "the analysis revealed a lower OR of coronary calcification in never smokers drinking >3 cups/d (OR: 0.37 [95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.91]), whereas among current and former smokers, the intake of coffee was not significantly associated with coronary calcification ... Habitual consumption of >3 cups/d of coffee decreased odds of subclinical atherosclerosis among never smokers. The consumption of coffee could exert a potential beneficial effect against coronary calcification, particularly in nonsmokers" - Love my Bunn MyCafe:

• To the K-Cup and beyond: Single serve coffee makers reviewed - CNET Reviews, 9/8/13 - "what really stood out for us was the differences in flavor between each unit, even using the same kind of coffee ... The sturdy Bunn MyCafe MCU is our favorite brewer so far, for its sturdy construction, retro design, and, most importantly because it makes the most flavorful cup of coffee" - See BUNN MCU Single Cup Multi-Use Brewer at Amazon.com.

Adjunctive nutrients in first-episode psychosis: A systematic review of efficacy, tolerability and neurobiological mechanisms - Early Interv Psychiatry. 2018 Mar 21 - ""first-episode psychosis" (FEP) ... Eleven studies with a total of 451 patients with FEP (from 8 independent randomized controlled trials) were eligible for inclusion. Six studies examined omega-3 fatty acids, with inconsistent effects on psychiatric symptoms. However, mechanistic studies found significant improvements in hippocampal neuronal health and brain glutathione. Antioxidants "n-acetyl cysteine" (n = 1) and vitamin C (n = 2) also improved oxidative status in FEP, which was associated with reduced psychiatric symptoms. No benefits were found for vitamin E (n = 1). Finally, one study trialling the amino acid taurine, showed significant improvements in positive symptoms and psychosocial functioning" - [Nutra USA] - See n-acetyl cysteine, vitamin C and taurine at Amazon.com.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Astaxanthin and Sesamin on Daily Fatigue: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Two-Way Crossover Study - Nutrients. 2018 Feb 28;10(3) - "astaxanthin and sesamin (AS) ... Secondary outcomes included other subjective feelings, work efficiency, autonomic nerve activity, levels of an oxidative stress marker (plasma phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH)) and safety. AS supplementation was associated with significantly improved recovery from mental fatigue compared with placebo. Increased PCOOH levels during mental and physical tasks were attenuated by AS supplementation. No differences between AS and placebo were detected in secondary outcomes, and no adverse effects of AS supplementation were observed. In conclusion, AS supplementation may be a candidate to promote recovery from mental fatigue which is experienced by many healthy people" - [Nutra USA] - See astaxanthin at Amazon.comand sesamin at Amazon.com.

• Sesamin - .wikipedia.org - "Sesamin is a lignan isolated from the bark of Fagara plants and from sesame oil"

Curcumin and piperine supplementation of obese mice under caloric restriction modulates body fat and interleukin-1β - Nutr Metab (Lond). 2018 Feb 6;15:12 - "It is plausible that supplementing the high fat diet of CR mice with Cur + Pip may increase loss of body fat and suppresses HFD induced inflammation. Combination of Cur and Pip has potential to enhance CR effects for the prevention of metabolic syndrome" - [Nutra USA] - See curcumin products at Amazon.com and piperine extract at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

The best blood pressure monitor for home use - Engadget, 3/23/18 - "The Omron Series 10 with Bluetooth measured the most accurately in our tests, has the most comfortable cuff, and was the only monitor we tested with a backlit display. It offers the best balance of necessary and nice-to-have features that ensure accuracy of measurement and help users track trends in their health." - See Omron 10 Series Wireless Bluetooth Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor with Two User Mode (200 Reading Memory) - Compatible with Alexa at Amazon.com.

I just bought one. It saves your results in the cloud, online and a spreadsheet. My first three readings:

Health Focus (Memory Loss):