Recent Longevity News for the week ending 4/1/15

Component of red grapes, wine could help ease depression - Science Daily, 3/30/15 - "the bullied rats were given a daily dose of resveratrol roughly equivalent to the amount found in six glasses of wine. They found that resveratrol blocked the increased inflammation in the brain and also prevented the depressive-like behaviors in animals that would have normally developed those behaviors ... administering resveratrol blocks the inflammation we would normally see in animals undergoing the bullying stress and brings it to control levels. We saw that consistently with IL-1ß [a pro-inflammatory protein] and many of the other inflammatory markers that we analyzed ... resveratrol has anti-inflammatory potential in the brain, not just on levels of inflammation circulating in the body" - See ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count at Amazon.com.

Eating green leafy vegetables keeps mental abilities sharp - Science Daily, 3/30/15 - "When the researchers examined individual nutrients linked with slowing cognitive decline, they found that vitamin K, lutein, folate and beta-carotene were most likely helping to keep the brain healthy"

Natural extract shows promise for preventing breast cancer, study suggests - Science Daily, 3/29/15 - "the scientists treated tissue cultures of triple negative breast cancer cells with several concentrations of rosehip extract. Exposure to the highest concentration (1.0 mg/ml) decreased triple negative breast cancer cell proliferation by 50 percent. The effect was reduced with decreasing concentrations. The highest concentrations of rosehip extracts (.025 to 1.0 mg/ml) decreased triple negative breast cancer cell migration by 25 to 45 percent ... The extract also enhanced the ability of the commonly used breast cancer chemotherapy drug doxorubicin to decrease cell proliferation and migration in the tissue cultures" - See rosehip extract at Amazon.com.

More than one-third of Division I college athletes may have low vitamin D levels - Science Daily, 3/27/15 - "The mean serum 25 level for the athletes, enrolled in a broad range of indoor and outdoor sports, was 40.1 ±14.9 ng/mL (>32 ng/mL is considered normal; 20 to <32 ng/mL, insufficient; and <20 ng/mL, deficient). Overall, 66.4 percent of participants had sufficient vitamin D levels and 33.6 percent, insufficient or deficient levels ... Men were 2.8 times more likely to have an abnormal vitamin D level" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Effect of natural sweetener xylitol in preventing tooth decay still unproven - Science Daily, 3/26/15 - "they found low quality evidence that levels of tooth decay were 13% lower in those who used a fluoride toothpaste containing xylitol for three years, compared to those who used a fluoride-only toothpaste. For other xylitol-containing products, such as xylitol syrup, lozenges and tablets, there was little or no evidence of any benefit"

Physical Activity, Television Watching and Semen Quality - Medscape, 3/25/15 - "men in the highest quartile of moderate-to-vigorous activity (≥15 h/week) had 73% (95% CI 15% to 160%) higher sperm concentration than men in the lowest quartile (<5 h/week)"

Statin Use and Risk of Depression - Medscape, 3/25/15 - "Use of any statin was shown to reduce the odds of depression by 8% compared to individuals not using statin medications (OR = 0.92, 95% CI, 0.89–0.96; p < 0.001). Simvastatin had a protective effect (OR = 0.93, 95% CI, 0.89–0.97; p = 0.001), whereas atorvastatin was associated with increased risk of depression (OR = 1.11, 95% CI, 1.01–1.22; p = 0.032). There was a stepwise decrease in odds ratio with increasing age (OR ≥ 40 years = 0.95, OR ≥ 50 years = 0.91, OR ≥ 60 years = 0.85, OR ≥ 70 years = 0.81)"

Green Tea Linked to Lower Risk for Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 3/25/15 - "starting with participants with normal cognitive function in 2007-2008 ... at follow-up between 2011 and 2013, green tea consumption 1 to 6 days/wk or every day was associated with a lower risk for MCI or dementia. There was no effect of coffee consumed daily or 1 to 6 days/wk or of black tea consumption. She calculated that the odds ratio of developing dementia or cognitive decline was 0.47 (P < .05) for elderly Japanese participants who drank green tea 1 to 6 days/ wk and 0.32 (P < .01) for those who drank it every day" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Metformin, vitamin D3 show impressive promise in preventing colorectal cancer - Science Daily, 3/24/15 - "Not only did the combination of the two improve outcomes in animal studies, but the dual-compound effect was dramatically better than either option alone. Even better, these impressive results required only modest amounts of metformin and Vitamin D3, making concerns about side effects from mega-dosing entirely moot ... Few colon neoplasias developed in the animals receiving moderate doses of metformin-vitamin D combination ... On average, there was also a 40 percent decrease in the development of polyps in all animals receiving both drugs in combination compared to the control groups" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store and vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Milk could be good for your brain - Science Daily, 3/24/15 - "participants who had indicated they had drunk milk recently had higher levels of glutathione in their brains. This is important, the researchers said, because glutathione could help stave off oxidative stress and the resulting damage caused by reactive chemical compounds produced during the normal metabolic process in the brain. Oxidative stress is known to be associated with a number of different diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and many other conditions" - Note:  Yeah but three servings of this and three serving of that and three servings of the other thing will pack on the pounds as you get older and don't even think about dessert. The best way I know of to increase glutathione is to take n-acetyl-cysteine.  See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

Women who take n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements during pregnancy and lactation meet the recommended intake - Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2015 Mar 25 - "Only 27% of women during pregnancy and 25% at 3 months postpartum met the current European Union (EU) consensus recommendation for DHA ... Women who took a supplement containing DHA were 10.6 and 11.1 times more likely to meet the current EU consensus recommendation for pregnancy (95% confidence interval (CI): 6.952-16.07; P < 0.001) and postpartum (95% CI: 6.803-18.14; P < 0.001), respectively" - [Nutra USA] - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Effects of leucine-rich protein supplements on anthropometric parameter and muscle strength in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis - J Nutr Health Aging. 2015;19(4):437-46 - "It is concluded that leucine supplementation was found to exert beneficial effects on body weight, body mass index, and lean body mass in older persons in those subjects already prone to sarcopenia, but not muscle strength" - Note:  Here's what I take. I put a scoop and a half of leucine in about a half cup of water in a small jelly jar and shake it and swill it. It's probably the worst think you could taste: Serious Nutrition Solutions Leucine - 500 Grams at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D Status Is Positively Associated with Calcium Absorption among Postmenopausal Thai Women with Low Calcium Intakes - J Nutr. 2015 Mar 25 - "These findings suggest that vitamin D status is an important determinant of calcium absorption among Thai women with low calcium intakes, and cassia may be a readily available source of calcium in this population" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Fish Consumption, Long-Chain Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis - Nutrients. 2015 Mar 24;7(4):2085-2100 - "Nine independent cross-sectional samples (seven cross-sectional studies) and three independent prospective cohorts (two prospective cohort studies) were identified as eligible for this meta-analysis ... The pooled RR (95% CI) was 0.71 (0.58, 0.87), comparing the highest to the lowest category of fish consumption, and 0.94 (0.90, 0.98) for one serving/week increment. Consistent results were found for LCω3PUFA intake" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol treatment restores peripheral insulin sensitivity in diabetic mice in a sirt1-independent manner - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Mar 25 - "Resveratrol improves peripheral insulin signalling independently of Sirt1 in diabetic mice in association with the inhibition of PTP1B and, therefore, this polyphenol could be an effective adjuvant for the treatment of diabetes" - See ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D status, hypertension and ischemic stroke: a clinical perspective - J Hum Hypertens. 2015 Mar 26 - "Meticulous management of hypertension, regular monitoring of serum 25(OH)D levels and treatment of severe vitamin D deficiency, particularly in hypertensive subjects, could help in effective prevention of stroke" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

The best WiFi router (for most people) - engadget.com, 3/27/15 - "For the devices you're most likely to own, TP-Link's inexpensive TL-WDR3600 delivers great performance at the longest distances. It's the best cheap router for most people" - See TP-LINK TL-WDR3600 Wireless N600 Dual Band Router, Gigabit, 2.4GHz 300Mbps+5Ghz 300Mbps, 2 USB port, Wireless On/Off Switch at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Apple Cider Vinegar):