Recent Longevity News for the week ending 1/14/15

Vitamin D May Boost Colon Cancer Survival: Study - WebMD, 1/12/15 - "We found that patients who had vitamin D levels at the highest category had improved survival and improved progression-free survival, compared with patients in the lowest category ... Those patients survived one-third longer than patients with low levels of vitamin D -- an average 32.6 months, compared with 24.5 months" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Curcumin's ability to fight Alzheimer's studied - Science Daily, 1/12/15 - "Curcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer’s with reduced toxicity" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Beyond prevention: Sulforaphane may find possible use for cancer therapy - Science Daily, 1/12/14 - "The new study identified a particular enzyme in prostate cancer cells, SUV39H1, that is affected by exposure to sulforaphane ... sulforaphane has shown toxicity to a number of human cancer cell lines, including prostate, breast, ovarian, colon and pancreatic cancer, and in animal studies it decreased metastases of prostate cancer" - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com.

Order Antivirals Before Influenza Is Lab-Confirmed, CDC Says - Medscape, 1/9/15 - "To take the edge off a bad influenza season, clinicians should prescribe antivirals for hospitalized, severely ill, and high-risk patients with flu symptoms without waiting for lab confirmation of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today ... Antivirals are underutilized"

Flu Epidemic Sends Elderly to Hospitals - nbcnews.com, 1/9/15 - "about two-thirds of the H3N2 is a mutated variety that's not included in the cocktail of strains in the flu shot ... All hospitalized patients and all high-risk patients (either hospitalized or outpatient) with suspected influenza should be treated as soon as possible with one of three available influenza antiviral medications"

Blueberries may help reduce blood pressure and arterial stiffness - Science Daily, 1/8/15 - "Over an eight-week period, 48 postmenopausal women with pre- and stage-1 hypertension were randomly assigned to receive either 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder -- the equivalent to one cup of fresh blueberries -- or 22 grams of a placebo powder ... At the end of the eight weeks, participants receiving the blueberry powder on average had a 7 mmHg (5.1 percent) decrease in systolic blood pressure, which is the top number in the blood pressure reading that measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. They also saw a 5 mmHg (6.3 percent) reduction in diastolic blood pressure, or the bottom number measuring the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats ... Additionally, participants in the blueberry-treated group had an average reduction of 97 cm/second (6.5 percent) in arterial stiffness" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Risk of Preterm Birth in Study - WebMD, 1/8/15 - "Women with the lowest levels of vitamin D were about 1.5 times as likely to deliver early compared to those with the highest levels ... In the study, Bodnar and her colleagues grouped women as less than 50 nmol/L, 50 to 74.9 nmol/L, and 75 nmol/L or above" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.  Note:  7,000 IU/day only brought my vitamin D level to 61.  I've since increased it to 10,000 IU per day.

How Exercise Keeps Us Young - NYTimes.com, 1/7/15 - "the scientists recruited 85 men and 41 women aged between 55 and 79 who bicycle regularly ... the cyclists did not show their age. On almost all measures, their physical functioning remained fairly stable across the decades and was much closer to that of young adults than of people their age. As a group, even the oldest cyclists had younger people’s levels of balance, reflexes, metabolic health and memory ability ,,, Age does seem to reduce our endurance and strength to some extent"

Abstracts from this week:

Schizandrin ameliorates ovariectomy-induced memory impairment and exhibits antioxidant and synaptic transmission properties - Br J Pharmacol. 2015 Jan 9 - "SCH improves memory activity and the potential mechanisms in OVX rats may include reducing the loss of hippocampal NADPH-d positive neurons, increasing antioxidation, and improving synaptic transmission that is possible involving from enhancing cholinergic function. Overall, our findings demonstrate that SCH could provide a potential therapeutic role for menopause cognitive dysfunction" - See schizandra at Amazon.com.

n-3 Fatty Acids Attenuate the Risk of Diabetes Associated With Elevated Serum Nonesterified Fatty Acids: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis - Diabetes Care. 2015 Jan 8 - "Chronically high nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are a marker of metabolic dysfunction and likely increase risk of type 2 diabetes. By comparison, n-3 fatty acids (FAs) have been shown to have various health benefits and may protect against disease development ... Over a mean 11.4 years of study period, higher diabetes incidence was found across successive NEFA quartiles (Q) (hazard ratio [95% CI]): Q1, 1.0; Q2, 1.35 (1.07, 1.71); Q3, 1.58 (1.24, 2.00); and Q4, 1.86 (1.45, 2.38) (Ptrend < 0.001). A significant interaction of n-3 FAs on the relation between NEFAs and type 2 diabetes was also observed (Pinteraction = 0.03). For individuals with lower n-3 levels (<75th percentile), a higher risk of type 2 diabetes was observed across quartiles of NEFAs: Q1, 1.0; Q2, 1.41 (1.07, 1.84); Q3, 1.77 (1.35, 2.31); and Q4, 2.18 (1.65, 2.88)" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

An Investigation into the Association between DNA Damage and Dietary Fatty Acid in Men with Prostate Cancer - Nutrients. 2015;7(1):405-422 - "20 men with prostate cancer adhered to a modified Mediterranean style diet for three months ... DNA damage was inversely correlated with dietary adherence (p = 0.013) and whole blood monounsaturated fatty acids (p = 0.009) and oleic acid (p = 0.020). DNA damage was positively correlated with the intake of dairy products (p = 0.043), red meat (p = 0.007) and whole blood omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (p = 0.015). Both the source and type of dietary fat changed significantly over the course of the dietary intervention"

The Effects of Long-Chain Omega-3 Fish Oils and Multivitamins on Cognitive and Cardiovascular Function: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial - J Am Coll Nutr. 2015 Jan 7:1-11 - "Absolute increases in the red blood cell omega-3/6 ratio were associated with improvements in spatial working memory. The group receiving 6 g fish oil without the multivitamin displayed a significant decrease in aortic pulse pressure and aortic augmentation pressure, two measures of aortic blood pressure and aortic stiffness" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Twelve-Month Consumption of a Polyphenol Extract from Olive (Olea europaea) in a Double Blind, Randomized Trial Increases Serum Total Osteocalcin Levels and Improves Serum Lipid Profiles in Postmenopausal Women with Osteopenia - J Nutr Health Aging. 2015;19(1):77-86 - "This exploratory study supports preclinical observations and warrants further research by showing that a specific olive polyphenol extract (Bonolive®) affects serum osteocalcin levels and may stabilize lumbar spine BMD. Moreover, the improved blood lipid profiles suggest additional health benefits associated to the intake of the olive polyphenol extract" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.

Iodine-deficiency disorders in the Aseer region, south-western Saudi Arabia: 20 years after the national survey and universal salt iodization - Public Health Nutr. 2015 Jan 7:1-7 - "The study documented that 18 years after the national study, and after more than a decade of universal salt iodization in Saudi Arabia, the problem of iodine-deficiency disorders is still endemic in the Aseer region" - See iodine at Amazon.com.  I take about 25 drops of the Lugol's Iodine Solution (2 oz.) 2% solution per day and I'm convinced that it reversed my hair loss.  It's nearly impossible to find the proper dosage in the internet.  Recommendations are all over the place.  Iodine deficiency had been shown to be a problem in a lot more countries besides Saudi Arabia.  See the studies on my iodine page.

The effects of oxytocin on cognitive defect caused by chronic restraint stress applied to adolescent rats and on hippocampal VEGF and BDNF levels - Med Sci Monit. 2015 Jan 6 - "The results indicate that impaired hippocampal learning and memory loss due to chronic restraint stress can be positively affected by intranasal oxytocin" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems.

Heart Rate Variability and Cognitive Function Following a Multi-Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation with Added Guarana (Paullinia cupana) - Nutrients. 2014 Dec 31;7(1):196-208 - "The aim of this study was to assess cognitive performance and heart rate variability (HRV) following the ingestion of either a multi-vitamin-mineral preparation supplemented with 300 mg guarana (Ac); a caffeine supplement (C) or a placebo supplement (Pl) ... The results suggest that the ingestion of a multi-vitamin-mineral with added guarana improves decision-making performance and is accompanied by a stable autonomic nervous system regulation during the first hour"- See guarana at Amazon.com.

Improved oxidative status in major abdominal surgery patients after N-acetyl cystein supplementation - Nutr J. 2015 Jan 6;14(1):4 - "Increased levels of reactive oxygen species during and after surgery may affect inflammatory response, post-operative adhesion molecule formation, and hemodynamic stability. The glutathione redox cycle is an important regulator in oxidative stress and its reduced forms scavenge free radicals. N-acetyl cysteine, a precursor of reduced glutathione, is considered as a potentially therapeutic wide spectrum agent in clinical practice ... Thirty-three patients diagnosed with pancreas, stomach, rectum, colon malignancies, and undergoing major abdominal surgery ... The study demonstrated the clinical importance of N-acetyl cysteine supplementation on antioxidant parameters in abdominal surgery patients. In these patients N-acetyl cysteine and vitamin administration can be considered as an effective method for improvement of oxidative status" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.

Carnosine and vitamin E - a promising pair in the combat against testicular oxidative stress in aged rats - Andrologia. 2014 Dec 29 - "Oxidative stress is considered to play a key role in ageing. Carnosine alone or together with vitamin E may prove to be helpful in dealing with problems of ageing through its antioxidant activity. Testis, by producing steroids and possessing a poor antioxidant system may become a strong target for the chronic oxidative stress generated during ageing ... Carnosine plus vitamin E treatment appears to stage a powerful performance by attenuating testicular oxidative stress and sparing the antioxidant system" - See carnosine products at Amazon.com and Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.

Effect of Garlic on Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analysis - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2015 Jan 5 - "Pooled analysis showed that garlic intake caused a 3.75-mm Hg reduction (95% confidence interval [CI], -5.04 to -2.45, I2 =30.7%; P<.001) in systolic BP and a 3.39-mm Hg reduction (95% CI, -4.14 to -2.65, I2 =67%; P<.001) in diastolic BP compared with controls. Meta-analysis of subgroups showed a significant reduction in systolic BP in hypertensive (-4.4 mm Hg; 95% CI, -7.37 to -1.42, I2 =0.0%; P=.004) but not normotensive patients" - See garlic supplements at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Some said to update the photo on my website so I bought a selfie stick.  See:  Extendable Selfie Stick with Bluetooth Remote by CamKix® at Amazon.com.  For just the Bluetooth button, see: JBtek Bluetooth Wireless Remote Control Camera Photo Shutter Release Self Timer for Iphone 5 5s 5c 4s 4 Ipad 5 4 3 Ipad Air Mini Samsung Galaxy S4 S3 Note 3 2 Android and any Smart Phone (Black).  For a smartphone tripod, see Case Star Octopus Style Portable and adjustable Tripod Stand Holder for iPhone, Cellphone ,Camera and Case Star Cellphone Bag-Blue and Black.

Health (Green Tea):