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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 8/17/11. You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.
Resveratrol bioavailability boosted by piperine: Study - Nutra USA, 8/16/11
- "Using mice, Prof Ahmad and his co-workers analyzed
the level of exposure and maximum blood levels of
resveratrol achieved by combining 100 milligrams of resveratrol per kilogram
of animal with 10 mg/kg of piperine ... Compared
to resveratrol alone, combination with piperine was found to increase the degree
of exposure to 229 percent, and the maximum levels in the blood by a whopping
1,544 percent" - [Abstract]
- See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com
Green
tea is effective in treating genetic disorder and types of tumors, study
suggests - Science Daily, 8/16/11 - "blocking GDH
with
green tea is very effective at killing two
different kinds of tumors; glioblastomas, an aggressive type of brain tumor, and
tuberous sclerosis complex disorder, a genetic disease that causes non-malignant
tumors to grow on a number of organs" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com Alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep - Science Daily, 8/15/11 - "alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep ... alcohol suppresses the high-frequency power during sleep in a dosage-dependent manner ... Although the first half of sleep after alcohol intake looks good on the EEG, the result of the assessment regarding the autonomic nerve system shows that drinking leads to insomnia rather than good sleep ... More specifically, as alcohol consumption increased, the heart rate increased and the spectral power of HRV measured at each frequency range decreased. Also, the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio that is considered an index of the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems was increased" Daily TV quota of six hours could shorten life expectancy by five years - Science Daily, 8/15/11 - "every single hour of TV watched after the age of 25 shortened the viewer's life expectancy by just under 22 minutes ... an individual who spends a lifetime average of six hours a day watching TV can expect to live just under five fewer years than someone who does not watch TV ... other research has shown that lifelong smoking is associated with the shortening of life expectancy by more than 4 years after the age of 50, with the average loss of life from one cigarette calculated to be 11 minutes -- equivalent to half an hour of TV watching" Fat and healthy? Study finds slim isn't always superior - Science Daily, 8/15/11 - "obese people who are otherwise healthy live just as long as their slim counterparts, and are less likely to die of cardiovascular causes ... Kuk's team looked at 6,000 obese Americans over a 16-year span, comparing their mortality risk with that of lean individuals" Less salt, less strokes, says new research - Science Daily, 8/11/11 - "a reduction of 3 grams of salt intake per day would prevent up to 8,000 stroke deaths and up to 12,000 coronary heart disease deaths per year in the UK ... A similar reduction in the USA would result in up to 120,000 fewer cases of coronary heart disease, up to 66,000 strokes and up to 99,000 heart attacks annually. It would also save up to $24 billion annually in health care costs"
Low
vitamin D linked to earlier first menstruation - Science Daily, 8/11/11 -
"Researchers from the University of Michigan School of
Public Health measured the blood vitamin D
levels in 242 girls ages 5-12 from Bogota, Colombia, and followed them for 30
months. Girls low on vitamin D were twice as likely to start menstruation during
the study than those with sufficient vitamin D ... Early menstruation is a risk
factor for behavioral and psychosocial problems in teens. Also, girls who have
an earlier menarche appear to have increased risk of developing cardiometabolic
diseases and cancer -- particularly breast cancer, as adults" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com Red meat linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes - Science Daily, 8/10/11 - "After adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), and other lifestyle and dietary risk factors, the researchers found that a daily 100-gram serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 19% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. They also found that one daily serving of half that quantity of processed meat -- 50 grams (for example, one hot dog or sausage or two slices of bacon) -- was associated with a 51% increased risk ... Clearly, the results from this study have huge public health implications given the rising type 2 diabetes epidemic and increasing consumption of red meats worldwide ... for an individual who eats one daily serving of red meat, substituting one serving of nuts per day was associated with a 21% lower risk of type 2 diabetes; substituting low-fat dairy, a 17% lower risk; and substituting whole grains, a 23% lower risk ... consumption of processed red meat -- like hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and deli meats, which generally have high levels of sodium and nitrites -- should be minimized and unprocessed red meat should be reduced. If possible, they add, red meat should be replaced with healthier choices, such as nuts, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, fish, or beans" Antioxidant spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, reduce negative effects of high-fat meal - Science Daily, 8/10/11 - "Normally, when you eat a high-fat meal, you end up with high levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in your blood ... If this happens too frequently, or if triglyceride levels are raised too much, your risk of heart disease is increased. We found that adding spices to a high-fat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 percent, compared to a similar meal with no spices added ... Antioxidants, like spices, may be important in reducing oxidative stress and thus reducing the risk of chronic disease" High levels of potentially toxic flame retardants in California pregnant women - Science Daily, 8/10/11 - "the flame retardant chemicals, known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have been widely used in furniture foam, plastics, carpets, consumer electronics, wire insulation, and other products since the 1970s. Although California banned manufacture and import of certain PBDEs in 2004, human exposure continues from old products, house dust, food, and other sources. Studies suggest that PBDE exposure during pregnancy may disrupt thyroid function, with adverse effects on normal development of the fetus's brain that persist throughout life, and also have adverse effects on the mother ... In their study of 25 second-trimester pregnant women in California, the researchers found the highest-ever levels of certain PBDEs among pregnant women worldwide. The high exposure most likely was the unintended consequence of California's furniture flammability standards, which manufacturers have met since 1975 by adding PBDE's to foam in upholstered furniture" Arthritis sufferers are not engaging in physical activity critical to their health - Science Daily, 8/10/11 - "Being physically active is one of best ways people with arthritis can improve their health ... more than half of women and 40 percent of men with arthritis are virtually couch potatoes ... fewer than one in seven men and one in 12 women met those guidelines when we had this objective measure, using the accelerometer ... The fact that so many people with arthritis are inactive should be a wake-up call to physicians"
Eating
protein throughout the day preserves muscle and physical function in dieting
postmenopausal women, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/10/11 -
"higher
protein intake during
weight loss can offset negative effects on
muscle mass by maintaining more muscle relative to the amount of weight lost.
Women who ate more protein lost 3.9 percent more weight and had a relative gain
of 5.8 percent more thigh muscle volume than woman who did not ... 31 healthy,
postmenopausal
obese women were divided into two groups. Each group followed a 1,400-calorie
weight-loss diet based on USDA's My Pyramid, but one group received a powdered
whey protein supplement in the morning and again in
the afternoon or evening; the other received a placebo that contained
carbohydrates ... We hypothesize that more vigorous exercise -- in particular,
resistance training -- would preserve even more muscle" - See
whey protein at Amazon.com HGH -- Human Growth Hormone -- Injections Give Couple New Energy, Enjoyment of Life - ABC News, 8/9/11 - "But the practice of injecting hGH is highly controversial and potentially risky" - Note: I'm convinced that it harms in the long run in that it actually hinders exercise performance and that it bulks you up too much. I feel it has to do with this statement:
Narcissists look like good leaders, but they aren't - Science Daily, 8/9/11 - "Narcissists rise to the top. That's because other people think their qualities -- confidence, dominance, authority, and self-esteem -- make them good leaders ... Our research shows that the opposite seems to be true ... the narcissists' preoccupation with their own brilliance inhibits a crucial element of successful group decision-making and performance: the free and creative exchange of information and ideas ... in the everyday life of an organization, "communication -- sharing of information, perspectives, and knowledge -- is essential to making good decisions. In brainstorming groups, project teams, government committees, each person brings something new. That's the benefit of teams. That's what creates a good outcome." Good leaders facilitate communication by asking questions and summarizing the conversation -- something narcissists are too self-involved to do ... the research has implications beyond the workplace -- for instance, in politics. "Narcissists are very convincing. They do tend to be picked as leaders. There's the danger: that people can be so wrong based on how others project themselves. You have to ask: Are the competencies they project valid, or are they merely in the eyes of the beholder?"" - Related article:
Curry
spice could offer treatment hope for tendinitis - Science Daily, 8/9/11 -
"Tendons, the tough cords of fibrous connective tissue
that join muscles to bones, are essential for movement because they transfer the
force of muscle contraction to bones. However, they are prone to injury,
particularly in athletes who may overstretch themselves and overuse their
joints. Tendinitis (or tendonitis) is a form of tendon
inflammation, which causes pain and tenderness near to joints and is
particularly common in shoulders, elbows, knees, hips, heels or wrists. Other
examples of common tendon disease include
tennis and golfer's elbow and Achilles
tendinitis ... introducing
curcumin in the culture system inhibits NF-kB
and prevents it from switching on and promoting further inflammation ... The
results follow on from another study by the Nottingham-Munich collaboration,
published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry earlier this year,
demonstrating that a compound found in red wine could have therapeutic potential
for osteoporosis related bone loss in elderly patients, post-menopausal women
and patients with rheumatoid arthritis ... The research found that
resveratrol, a naturally occurring phytoestrogen found in the skin of red
grapes, vines and various other fruits and nuts, inhibits inflammation in bone
cells. Its effects extended to inhibiting the formation of osteoclasts, giant
congregations of blood-derived cells responsible for bone degeneration,
especially in osteoporosis in later life. Resveratrol prevented NF-kB from
switching on to trigger inflammation" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com
Tufts-Harvard study builds vitamin D's anti-diabetes potential - Nutra USA,
8/9/11 - "The study included 92 people with an average
age of 57 and an average BMI of 32 kg/m2. Participants were randomly assigned to
receive
vitamin D (2000 IU per day) or calcium
carbonate (800 mg per day). Participants received either the vitamin D with or
without calcium or calcium alone for 16 weeks ... At the end of the study, a
measure of the function of beta-cells was improved in the people receiving
vitamin D, with the so-called disposition index (a measure of beta cell function
in the pancreas that includes measures of insulin secretion and
insulin sensitivity) improved by about 26 percent, compared with a decline
of about 14 percent in the no-vitamin D group" - [Abstract]
- See
vitamin D at Amazon.com Weight Loss Improves Erections in Obese Men With Diabetes - Medscape, 8/10/11 - "For the study, researchers recruited obese men who had body mass indexes (BMIs), a number calculated from weight and height, of greater than 30 and waist sizes over 40 inches ... The average age of men in the study was 60 ... men were randomly assigned to either a low-calorie diet, where two daily meals were replaced by weight loss shakes, or to a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate eating plan ... In the healthy eating plan, which focused on three meals of lean protein, five daily servings of vegetables, and two daily servings of whole grain carbohydrates and fruit, was designed to shave about 600 daily calories off what the men would normally eat ... After eight weeks, the men on the low-calorie meal replacement diets were switched to the healthy eating plan, and all continued to be followed for a year ... After eight weeks on the diets, the men on the low-calorie plan had lost about twice as much weight as the men on the healthy eating plan, 20 pounds vs. 11 pounds ... But they had similar improvements in erectile function, sexual desire, and urinary symptoms ... Of the 17 men with severe erectile dysfunction, Wittert says that after eight weeks, seven had improvements in their symptoms, with some achieving normal function. After a year, 25% had normal erectile function" Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):
A low-fat
high-carbohydrate diet supplemented with long-chain n-3 PUFA reduces the risk of
the metabolic syndrome - Atherosclerosis. 2011 Jul 12 -
"Clinical intervention study: the patients (n=337) were
randomly assigned to one of four diets for 12 weeks each: two high fat diets,
one rich in saturated fat (HSFA) and the other rich in monounsaturated fat
(HMUFA), and two low fat diets, one high in complex carbohydrates (LFHCC)
supplemented with 1.24g/day of long-chain n-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids (LFHCC n-3) and the other LFHCC diet with
placebo (LFHCC) ... An enlarged waist circumference (≥88cm for women and ≥102cm
for men) was present among 95% of the participants, 88% had elevated blood
pressure (>130/85mm Hg or antihypertensive drugs), 77% had elevated fasting
plasma glucose (≥5.55mmol/L), 51% were hypertriacylglycerolemic (≥1.7mmol/L),
and 72% had low HDL cholesterol (<1.0mmol/L for men, and <1.3mmol/L for women).
The prevalence of enlarged waist circumference, hypertension and
hypertriacylglycerolemia were reduced after the LFHCC n-3 diet (p<0.05). Thus
the prevalence of MetS fell by 20.5% after
LFHCC n-3 diet compared with the HSFA (10.6%), HMUFA (12%) diet or LFHCC (10.4%)
diets (p<0.028)" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
Estimating
health and economic benefits from using prescription omega-3 Fatty acids in
patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia - Am J Cardiol. 2011 Sep
1;108(5):691-7 - "In patients with severe (≥500 mg/dl)
hypertriglyceridemia
(SHTG), clinical trials have demonstrated that prescription
ω-3 fatty acids
(P-OM3s) 4 g/day can decrease triglyceride levels by 45% ... Simulation results
for the control arm indicated that subjects with SHTG are at about 2 times
higher risk for myocardial infarction than those with normal triglyceride
levels. Using estimates from previous epidemiologic studies and meta-analyses
with OM3s, the model predicted 29% to 36% decreases in various measurements of
adverse cardiac events for the intervention arm. The model also predicted a
decrease in ischemic stroke of 24% (95% confidence interval 15 to 33)" -
See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com Substitution of Standard Soybean Oil with Olive Oil-Based Lipid Emulsion in Parenteral Nutrition: Comparison of Vascular, Metabolic, and Inflammatory Effects - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Aug 10 - "Soybean oil-based lipid emulsions are the only Food and Drug Administration-approved lipid formulation for clinical use in parenteral nutrition (PN). Recently concerns with its use have been raised due to the proinflammatory effects that may lead to increased complications because they are rich in ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids ... Soybean oil-PN increased systolic blood pressure compared with olive oil-PN (P < 0.05). Soybean oil PN reduced brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation from baseline (-23% at 4 h and -25% at 24 h, both P < 0.01); in contrast, olive oil PN, lipid free PN, and saline did not change either systolic blood pressure or flow-mediated dilatation. Compared with saline, soybean oil PN, olive oil PN, and lipid free PN similarly increased glucose and insulin concentrations during infusion (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in plasma free fatty acids, lipid profile, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, immune function parameters, or sympathetic activity between soybean oil- and olive oil-based lipid emulsions. Conclusion: The 24-h infusion of PN containing soybean oil-based lipid emulsion increased blood pressure and impaired endothelial function compared with PN containing olive oil-based lipid emulsion and lipid-free PN in healthy subjects. These vascular changes may have significant implications in worsening outcome in subjects receiving nutrition support"
Antihypertensive and antioxidant effects of dietary black sesame meal in
pre-hypertensive humans - Nutr J. 2011 Aug 9;10(1):82 -
"Twenty-two women and eight men (aged 49.8 +/- 6.6
years) with prehypertension were randomly
divided into two groups, 15 subjects per group. They ingested 2.52 g black
sesame meal capsules or placebo capsules each day
for 4 weeks ... malondialdehyde (MDA) ... The results showed that 4-week
administration of black sesame meal significantly decreased systolic BP (129.3
+/- 6.8 vs. 121.0 +/- 9.0 mmHg, P < 0.05) and MDA level (1.8 +/- 0.6 vs. 1.2 +/-
0.6 micromol/L, P < 0.05), and increased vitamin E level (29.4 +/- 6.0 vs. 38.2
+/- 7.8 micromol/L, P < 0.01). In the black sesame meal group, the change in
systolic BP tended to be positively related to the change in MDA (R = 0.50, P =
0.05), while the change in diastolic BP was negatively related to the change in
vitamin E (R = -0.55, P <0.05)" - See
sesame seed oil at Amazon.com
Catechin-Rich Grape Seed Extract Supplementation Attenuates Diet-Induced Obesity
in C57BL/6J Mice - Ann Nutr Metab. 2011 Aug 9;58(3):250-258 -
"The main polyphenol components of CGSE were
catechin and epicatechin. CGSE supplementation in the HFD-induced obesity model
chronically suppressed the increase in body weight and the weight of fat pads.
Furthermore, CGSE improved metabolic parameter abnormalities and upregulated the
fatty acid oxidation-related genes in the liver. Conclusions: These findings
suggest that CGSE contains monomeric catechins in high concentrations and
ameliorates HFD-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice" - See
grape seed extract at Amazon.com Cancer mortality reduction and metformin. A retrospective cohort study in type 2 diabetic patients - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2011 Aug - "All-cause and cancer-related deaths occurred in: 9.2%, 1.6% of metformin users, 13.1%, 3.0% of sulfonylureas users and 26.8%, 4.8%of insulin users, respectively. In a Cox regression model for competing risks, adjusted for propensity score, metformin users showed a lower cancer mortality risk (HR=0.56;95%CI 0.34-0.94), while insulin was positively associated with other-than-cancer-mortality (HR=1.56; 1.22-1.99). Each 5-year metformin exposure was associated with a reduction in cancer death by 0.73, whereas every 5-year insulin exposure was associated with 1.25-fold increase in other-than-cancer death. Standardized mortality ratios for cancer and other-than-cancer mortality in metformin users were 43.6 (95%CI 25.8-69.0) and 99.1 (79.3-122.5) respectively, in comparison with the general population. Conclusions: Metformin users showed a lower risk of cancer-related mortality than not users or patients on diet only; this may represent another reason to choose metformin as a first-line therapy in T2DP" Lower endothelial progenitor cell number, family history of cardiovascular disease and reduced HDL-cholesterol levels are associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length in healthy young adults - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011 Aug 6 - "LTL resulted inversely correlated with family history of CVD (t = 2.70; p = 0.009), age (r = -0.238; p = 0.032), waist circumference (r = -0.256; p = 0.02), triglycerides (r = -0.218; p = 0.049), PAI-1 (r = -0.288; p = 0.009) and directly correlated with HDL-cholesterol (r = 0.316; p = 0.004) and EPC number (r = 0.358; p = 0.002). At a multivariate analysis, family history of CVD (p = 0.013), EPC count (p = 0.003), and HDL-cholesterol (p = 0.017) were independently associated with LTL (r = 0.62) ... LTL is independently associated to CV risk factors also in healthy young adults"
Oral
hydroxycitrate supplementation enhances glycogen synthesis in exercised human
skeletal muscle - Br J Nutr. 2011 Aug 9:1-8 -
"Glycogen stored in skeletal muscle is the main fuel for endurance
exercise. The present study examined the effects of oral
hydroxycitrate (HCA) supplementation on post-meal glycogen synthesis in
exercised human skeletal muscle. Eight healthy male volunteers (aged 22.0 (se
0.3) years) completed a 60-min cycling exercise at 70-75 % \dot {>V}O_{2\hairsp
max} and received HCA or placebo in a crossover design repeated after a 7 d
washout period. They consumed 500 mg HCA or placebo with a high-carbohydrate
meal (2 g carbohydrate/kg body weight, 80 % carbohydrate, 8 % fat, 12 % protein)
for a 3-h post-exercise recovery. Muscle biopsy samples were obtained from
vastus lateralis immediately and 3 h after the exercise. We found that HCA
supplementation significantly lowered post-meal insulin response with similar
glucose level compared to placebo. The rate of glycogen synthesis with the HCA
meal was approximately onefold higher than that with the placebo meal. In
contrast, GLUT4 protein level after HCA supplementation was significantly
decreased below the placebo level, whereas expression of fatty acid translocase
(FAT)/CD36 mRNA was significantly increased above the placebo level.
Furthermore, HCA supplementation significantly increased energy reliance on fat
oxidation, estimated by the gaseous exchange method. However, no differences
were found in circulating NEFA and glycerol levels with the HCA meal compared
with the placebo meal. The present study reports the first evidence that HCA
supplementation enhanced glycogen synthesis rate in exercised human skeletal
muscle and improved post-meal insulin sensitivity" - See
hydroxycitrate at Amazon.com Health Focus (Nuts): News & Reserch:
Abstracts:
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