Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 11/28/12.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

This is your brain on exercise - nbcnews.com, 11/26/12 - "Seniors who fit in the most daily physical activity – from raking leaves to dancing – can have more gray matter in important brain regions ... The scientists have images that show people who were the most active had 5 percent more gray matter than people who were the least active. Having more little gray brain cells translates into a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, other studies have shown ... the MRIs showed the differences were in areas of the brain like the hippocampus, which is heavily damaged in Alzheimer’s disease ... No pharmaceutical drug on the market has been shown to have these effects on the brain -- not a single drug ...  And exercise is available to anyone ... And it doesn’t cost anything"

Lack of nutrients and metabolic syndrome linked to different subtypes of depression - Science Daily, 11/26/12 - "Melancholic depression involves typical depressive symptoms, such as a depressed mood. Non-melancholic depression is characterized by other types of symptoms, such as low self-esteem and feelings of worry and anxiety ... Among subjects with the highest folate intake, the risk for melancholic depressive symptoms was almost 50 per cent lower than among those with the lowest intake. In addition, among those with the highest vitamin B12 levels, the risk for melancholic depressive symptoms was almost three times lower than among those with the lowest levels. Both findings are new. A similar association with non-melancholic depressive symptoms was not observed ... Another novel observation is that the risk for the metabolic syndrome was twofold among those with non-melancholic depressive symptoms, as compared to those with melancholic symptoms or those with no depressive symptoms" - See folic acid products at Amazon.com and vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.

Smoking 'rots' brain, says King's College study - BBC News, 11/25/12 - "Smoking "rots" the brain by damaging memory, learning and reasoning ... Their study was published in the journal Age and Ageing"

The 'Love Hormone' as Sports Enhancer - NYTimes.com, 11/21/12 - "Until recently, though, scientists had not considered whether a substance that promotes cuddliness and warm, intimate bonding might also play a role in competitive sports ... Being part of a team involves emotions, as for instance when a team scores, and these emotions are associated with brain chemicals ... when one of the first shooters threw his arms in the air to celebrate a goal, his teammates were far more likely to subsequently shoot successfully than when no exuberant gestures followed a goal ... Oxytocin facilitates the ability to read other people’s emotions, and it deepens bonds between group members and heightens suspicion of and antagonism toward those outside the group" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems or Oxytocin Factor.

Diabetes drug improves memory, study suggests - Science Daily, 11/21/12 - "treatment with the anti-insulin-resistance drug rosiglitazone enhanced learning and memory as well as normalized insulin resistance. The scientists believe that the drug produced the response by reducing the negative influence of Alzheimer's on the behavior of a key brain-signaling molecule" - Note:  Rosiglitazone is the one that they say increases the risk of heart disease.  Pioglitazone is in the same class of drugs but they claim that increases the chances of bladder cancer.  Personally I don't have diabetes but I take low dose metformin and pioglitazone.  See my Insulin and Aging page.  See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.

Resveratrol Preserves Response to Morphine - Medscape, 11/20/12 - "Dr. Wong and colleagues induced morphine tolerance in rats and then tested whether resveratrol significantly enhanced the effects of morphine ... They found that the pain-relieving response to morphine was only about 20% of normal in the morphine-tolerant rats, whereas in similar rats receiving resveratrol, morphine responses were restored to about 60% of normal" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

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):

Effects of supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cognitive performance and cardiometabolic risk markers in healthy 51 to 72 years old subjects: a randomized controlled cross-over study - Nutr J. 2012 Nov 22;11(1):99 - "Fish oil n-3 PUFA (3g daily) were consumed during 5weeks separated by a 5 week washout period in a cross-over placebo controlled study, including 40 healthy middle aged to elderly subjects ... Supplementation with n-3 PUFA resulted in better performance in the WM-test compared with placebo (p < 0.05). In contrast to placebo, n-3 PUFA lowered plasma triacylglycerides (P < 0.05) and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.0001). Systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05), f-glucose (p = 0.05), and s-TNF-alpha (p = 0.05), were inversely related to the performance in cognitive tests ... Intake of n-3 PUFA improved cognitive performance in healthy subjects after five weeks compared with placebo. In addition, inverse relations were obtained between cardiometabolic risk factors and cognitive performance, indicating a potential of dietary prevention strategies to delay onset of metabolic disorders and associated cognitive decline" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Curcumin alleviates oxidative stress, inflammation, and renal fibrosis in remnant kidney through the Nrf2-keap1 pathway - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2012 Nov 23 - "These findings demonstrate that, by modulating Nrf2-Keap1 pathway, the curcumin effectively attenuates oxidative stress, inflammation, and renal fibrosis, which suggest that curcumin hold promising potential for safe treatment of chronic kidney disease" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Aged garlic extract reduces blood pressure in hypertensives: a dose-response trial - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov 21 - "A total of 79 general practice patients with uncontrolled systolic hypertension participated in a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled dose-response trial of 12 weeks. Participants were allocated to one of three garlic groups with either of one, two or four capsules daily of aged garlic extract (240/480/960 mg containing 0.6/1.2/2.4 mg of S-allylcysteine) or placebo ... Mean systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced by 11.8+/-5.4 mm Hg in the garlic-2-capsule group over 12 weeks compared with placebo (P=0.006), and reached borderline significant reduction in the garlic-4-capsule group at 8 weeks (-7.4+/-4.1 mm Hg, P=0.07). Changes in systolic blood pressure in the garlic-1-capsule group and diastolic blood pressure were not significantly different to placebo. Tolerability, compliance and acceptability were high in all garlic groups (93%) and highest in the groups taking one or two capsules daily" - See garlic supplements at Amazon.com.

Red and processed meat consumption and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov 21 - "performed a literature search on PubMed database through June 2012 ... Comparing the highest category of consumption with lowest category, the pooled relative risks (RRs) of total stroke were 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05-1.25) for total meat (red and processed meat combined) (n=4), 1.09 (95% CI, 1.01-1.18) for red meat (n=5) and 1.14 (95% CI, 1.05-1.25) for processed meat (n=5); the corresponding RRs of ischemic stroke (highest vs lowest quintile) were 1.15 (95% CI, 1.04-1.28), 1.13(95% CI, 1.01-1.25) and 1.19 (95% CI, 1.08-1.31). Consumption of red and/or processed meat was not associated with hemorrhagic stroke. In the dose-response analysis, the risk of stroke increased significantly by 10% and 13% for each 100 g per day increment in total and red meat consumption, respectively, and by 11% for each 50 g per day increment in processed meat consumption"

Plasma Uric Acid Is Associated with Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Independent of Diet and Metabolic Risk Factors - J Nutr. 2012 Nov 21 - "case-cohort nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands study ... After adjustment for established diabetes risk factors such as age, the HR (highest vs. lowest quartile of uric acid) for diabetes was 4.36 (95% CI: 3.22, 5.90). Further adjustment for adiposity attenuated the HR to 1.86 (95% CI: 1.32, 2.62). Additional adjustment for hypertension and biochemical markers, such as TG, slightly attenuated the association [HR = 1.43 (95% CI: 0.97, 2.10)]. A uric acid-related dietary pattern did not confound the association. In conclusion, this study supports that high uric acid concentrations are associated with increased diabetes risk, although a large part of the association can be explained by the degree of adiposity"

Melatonin as a free radical scavengr in the ovarian follicle [Review] - Endocr J. 2012 Nov 22 - "Melatonin reduces oxidative stress as an antioxidant, and contribute to oocyte maturation, embryo development and luteinization of granulosa cells. Our clinical study demonstrated that melatonin treatment for infertile women increases intra-follicular melatonin concentrations, reduces intra-follicular oxidative damage, and elevates fertilization and pregnancy rates. Melatonin treatment also improves progesterone production by corpus luteum in infertile women with luteal phase defect. Melatonin treatment could become a new cure for improving oocyte quality and luteal function in infertile women" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Low Serum Magnesium and the Development of Atrial Fibrillation in the Community: The Framingham Heart Study - Circulation. 2012 Nov 21 - "We studied 3,530 participants (mean age, 44 years; 52% women) from the Framingham Offspring Study who attended a routine examination, and were free of AF and cardiovascular disease ... 20 years of follow-up ... The age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate of AF was 9.4 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 6.7 to 11.9) in the lowest quartile of serum magnesium (≤1.77 mg/dl), compared with 6.3 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 4.1 to 8.4) in the highest quartile (≥1.99 mg/dl). In multivariable-adjusted models, individuals in the lowest quartile of serum magnesium were approximately 50% more likely to develop AF (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.52, 1.00 to 2.31; P=0.05), compared with those in the upper quartiles ... Because hypomagnesemia is common in the general population, a link with AF may have potential clinical implications" - See Jarrow Formulas, Magnesium Optimizer Citrate, 100 Easy-Solv Tablets at iHerb.

Raf and PI3K are the Molecular Targets for the Anti-metastatic Effect of Luteolin - Phytother Res. 2012 Nov 21 - "Metastases are the primary cause of human cancer deaths. Luteolin, a naturally occurring phytochemical, has chemopreventive and/or anticancer properties in several cancer cell lines ... An in vivo mouse study showed that oral administration (10 or 50 mg/kg) of luteolin significantly inhibited tumor nodules and tumor volume of lung metastasis induced by intravenous injection of CT-26 cells. Luteolin also inhibited MMP-9 expression and activity in CT-26-induced mouse lung tissue. These results suggest that luteolin may have considerable potential for development as an anti-metastatic agent" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

• Luteolin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "Luteolin is a yellow crystalline compound. It is a flavonoid; to be specific, it is one of the more common flavones.[1] From preliminary research, it is thought to play a role in the human body possibly as an antioxidant, a free radical scavenger, a promoter of carbohydrate metabolism, or an immune system modulator"

Vegetarian diets and the incidence of cancer in a low-risk population - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012 Nov 20 - "cancer incidence among 69,120 participants of the Adventist Health Study-2 ... The multivariate HR of overall cancer risk among vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians was statistically significant (HR=0.92; 95%CI: 0.85, 0.99) for both genders combined. Also, a statistically significant association was found between vegetarian diet and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract (HR=0.76; 95%CI: 0.63, 0.90). When analyzing the association of specific vegetarian dietary patterns, vegan diets showed statistically significant protection for overall cancer incidence (HR=0.84; 95%CI: 0.72, 0.99) in both genders combined and for female-specific cancers (HR=0.66; 95%CI: 0.47, 0.92). Lacto-ovo-vegetarians appeared to be associated with decreased risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal system (HR=0.75; 95%CI: 0.60, 0.92)"

Long-term vitamin D3 supplementation is more effective than vitamin D2 in maintaining serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status over the winter months - Br J Nutr. 2012 Jul 11:1-7 - "Participants aged 18-50 years were randomly assigned to 25 μg (1000 IU) vitamin D3 (n 32), 25 μg (1000 IU) vitamin D2 (n 31) or placebo (n 32) daily for 25 weeks beginning at the end of summer ... After 25 weeks, participants randomised to D2 and placebo had a significant reduction in serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations over the winter months compared with vitamin D3-supplemented participants (both P < 0.001). Supplementation with vitamin D2 increased serum 25(OH)D2 but produced a 9 (95 % CI 1, 17) nmol/l greater decline in the 25(OH)D3 metabolite compared with placebo (P < 0.036). Overall, total serum 25(OH)D concentrations were 21 (95 % CI 14, 30) nmol/l lower in participants receiving vitamin D2 compared with those receiving D3 (P < 0.001), among whom total serum 25(OH)D concentrations remained unchanged" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Association between habitual physical activity and lower cardiovascular risk in premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal women: a population-based study - Menopause. 2012 Nov 19 - "The mean (SD) age was 57.1 (5.4) years. The average number of steps per day for the total sample was 5,250.7 (3,372.9): 3,472.4 (1,570.2) in the inactive group (61.8%) and 9,055.9 (3,033.4) in the active group (31.9%). A negative and statistically significant correlation was found between physical activity and smoking (P = -0.019), body mass index (P = -0.006), waist circumference (P = -0.013), and waist-to-hip ratio of 0.85 or higher (P = -0.043). Inactive women presented a higher risk of overweight/obesity (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% CI, 1.233-3.622; P = 0.006) and waist circumference larger than 88 cm (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.054-2.942; P = 0.03), even after adjustment for age, menopause status, smoking, and hormone therapy. Inactive women also had a higher risk of diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.233-6.295; P = 0.014) and metabolic syndrome (OR, 2.5, 95% CI, 1.443-4.294; P = 0.001) ... Habitual physical activity, specifically walking 6,000 or more steps daily, was associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in middle-aged women, independently of menopause status" - Note:  Sometimes I hesitate to include things like this.  Is there anyone that doesn't know the importance of exercise?  I Googled the number of steps in a mile and the consensus seems to be between 2,000 and 2,500.

Vitamin D as a protective factor in multiple sclerosis - Neurology. 2012 Nov 20;79(21):2140-5 - "2 population-based biobanks with 291,500 samples from 164,000 persons collected since 1975 in the northern half of Sweden were used ... This study supports the presence of an association between high 25(OH)D levels during the years preceding disease onset and a decreased risk of MS. In the very limited material with samples drawn in early pregnancy, where month-of-birth effects were controlled for, we found no association between gestational 25(OH)D levels and MS risk in the offspring. Decreasing 25(OH)D levels in the population may contribute to explain the increasing MS incidence that is suggested from epidemiologic studies" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Selenium and colorectal adenomas risk: a meta-analysis - Nutr Cancer. 2012 Nov;64(8):1153-9 - "Selenium, as an important component of some antioxidants, has been suggested to have protective effects against colorectal adenomas. This meta-analysis examined the association between selenium level in blood and risk of colorectal adenomas. Data from 7 studies (3 cross-sectional studies, 3 case-control studies, 1 nested case-control study) published before December 2011 was included in this meta-analysis ... There was a significant inverse correlation between selenium level and colorectal adenomas risk according to fixed-effects model. The overall OR of highest selenium level to lowest for colorectal adenomas is 0.67 (95% CI: 0.55-0.81)" - See se-methylselenocysteine at Amazon.com.

Studies on the chemopreventive effect of carnitine on tumorigenesis in vivo, using two experimental murine models of colon cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2012 Nov;64(8):1279-87 - "Carnitine supplementation resulted in significantly increased tissue carnitine and acylcarnitine levels. Carnitine inhibited the development of precancerous lesions and macroscopic colonic tumors in AOM-treated mice" - See carnitine products at iHerb.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

• Jump-N-Carry JNC300XL 900 Peak Amp Ultraportable 12-Volt Jump Starter with Light - It'll save your butt if you've ever left something like the car dome light on and run down the battery.  Just one service call will cost you more.
• Slime 40022 12-Volt Digital Tire Inflator - Another lifesaver if you have a flat.  Usually it's a nail and this will get you home.
• ARB 10000010 Orange Speedy Seal Tire Repair Kit - I worked at my grandfather's garage as a kid.  I bet I've repaired more tires with something similar to this before I was 16 than most mechanics have in their lifetime.

Health Focus (Importance of Breakfast):

News & Research:

• The relationship of breakfast skipping and type of breakfast consumed with overweight/obesity, abdominal obesity, other cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in young adults. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): 1999-2006 - Public Health Nutr. 2012 Oct 3:1-10 - "metabolic syndrome (MetS) ... Three breakfast groups were identified, breakfast skippers (BS), ready-to-eat-cereal (RTEC) consumers and other breakfast (OB) consumers, using a 24 h dietary recall ... Relative to the BS, the RTEC consumers were 31%, 39%, 37%, 28%, 23%, 40 % and 4 % less likely to be overweight/obese or have abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated serum total cholesterol, elevated serum LDL-cholesterol, reduced serum HDL-cholesterol or elevated serum insulin, respectively. Relative to the OB consumers, the BS were 1.24, 1.26 and 1.44 times more likely to have elevated serum total cholesterol, elevated serum LDL-cholesterol or reduced serum HDL-cholesterol, respectively. Relative to the OB consumers, the RTEC consumers were 22%, 31% and 24% less likely to be overweight/obese or have abdominal obesity or elevated blood pressure, respectively. No difference was seen in the prevalence of the MetS by breakfast skipping or type of breakfast consumed"
• Eat Breakfast, Cut Diabetes and Obesity Risk - WebMD, 6/14/12 - "Compared to people who ate breakfast three or fewer times per week, they were: ... 34% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes ... 43% less likely to become obese ... 40% less likely to develop fat around the tummy (abdominal obesity)"
• Breakfast Decreases Type 2 Diabetes Risk - Medscape, 6/9/12 - "an analysis of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a longitudinal study of 5115 black and white women between the ages of 18 and 30 years who were initially examined in 1985 through 1986. To date, participants have been reexamined at year 2, year 5, year 7, year 10, year 15, and year 20 (2005 - 2006) ... For each additional day/week of breakfast intake, there was a 5% decrease in risk of developing T2D ... Compared with participants who ate breakfast between 0 and 3 times per week, those who ate breakfast 5 times or more had a 31% reduction in T2D risk (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54 - 0.88). They also gained less weight (0.5 kg/m2 less weight gain; P = .01) ... Those with higher diet quality had lower incidences of T2D, but breakfast frequency was more important, as it predicted T2D risk across diet quality score quartiles"
• Eggs at Breakfast May Delay Hunger - WebMD, 5/11/12 - "researchers tracked 20 overweight or obese people, giving them either a breakfast containing eggs or cold cereal for one week. Although the breakfasts offered different protein foods, the meals themselves were equally matched in terms of calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat ... people who had eggs in the morning felt fuller before lunch, and they also ate less food from the buffet compared to those who had cereal. Egg eaters also had lower levels of ghrelin and higher amounts of PYY3-36 during the three hours between breakfast and lunch. This suggests they felt less hungry and more satisfied between meals ... Long-term weight loss trials to compare the manipulation of protein quality without increasing protein quantity should be explored" - Note:  I fully agree.  I just seems very easy to keep my weight in check when I have eggs for breakfast.