Recent Longevity News for the week ending 5/13/15

Magnesium Deficiency: The Real Emperor of All Maladies? - Medscape, 5/11/15 - "Magnesium deficiency has been blamed for various arrhythmias, hypertension, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, seizures, leg cramps, restless legs syndrome, kidney stones, myocardial infarction, headaches, premenstrual syndrome, fibromyalgia, chest pain, osteoporosis, altitude sickness, diabetes, fatigue, weakness, and other maladies ... Whoaaa. Really? That is almost everything. Can that be true? Because of the vital nature of magnesium in so many cellular functions, it actually could be true. We simply do not know" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

Diet That Helps You Live Longer May Keep Your Mind Sound, Too - nbcnews.com, 5/11/15 - "Two groups were assigned to follow the Mediterranean diet and told to add either five 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil a day or a handful of mixed nuts. The third group got the low-fat advice ... The group who ate the extra nuts did better in terms of memory and the group given extra virgin olive oil performed better on tests that required quick thinking ... Just over 13 percent of those who got extra olive oil were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which may or may not lead to Alzheimer's disease. Just 7 percent of those who got nuts were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, while around 13 percent of those who got neither developed memory loss ... But many of the patients actually saw their memories get better over the four years. On average, those in the low-fat-only group lost some memory and thinking skills, but those who got extra nuts had their memory skills improve on average, while those who got olive oil had improvements in problem-solving and planning skills" - [Abstract]

Is Your Coffee Maker Brewing Java Germs? - cbslocal.com, 5/8/15 - See the three minute video.

Fish oil may help with diabetic neuropathy - Science Daily, 5/6/15 - "Approximately 50 percent of patients with diabetes suffer from nerve damage, or neuropathy. No cure exists, and the most effective treatment, keeping blood sugar in control, only slows neuropathy ... fish oil supplements can restore the condition of nerves damaged from diabetes in mice ... Previous studies of obesity and diabetes have reported better blood sugar handling, liver function and reduced inflammation with omega-3 fatty acids treatment. The health benefits were attributed to protective molecules produced from omega-3 fatty acids, including one type called resolvins" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D Supplements Might Help Some Lose Weight - WebMD, 5/8/15 - "The new study included 400 overweight and obese people with vitamin D deficiency who were put on a low-calorie diet and then divided into three groups. One group took no vitamin D supplements, while the two other groups took either 25,000 international units (IU) or 100,000 IU of vitamin D per month ... After six months, participants in both vitamin D supplementation groups had lost more weight and had greater reductions in their waistlines than those who hadn't taken the supplements" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Low Risk of Problems from Too Much Vitamin D - WebMD, 5/7/15 - "The data included more than 20,000 vitamin D blood level measurements taken between 2002 and 2011 from residents of a single community in Minnesota ... Just one case of vitamin D toxicity was found over the decade-long study period, the researchers said. That person's vitamin D level was 364 ng/mL" - Note: 364 ng/mL equals 908 nmol/l.

Healthy Eating May Shield the Aging Brain - WebMD, 5/7/15 - "Compared with older adults who favored foods like red meat and sweets, the risk of mental decline for the healthiest eating group was about one-quarter lower. Among the people with the healthiest diet, about 14 percent showed declines in thinking, compared to about 18 percent of those with the least healthy diets ... The MIND diet emphasizes vegetables and fruits (leafy greens and berries, in particular), whole grains , nuts, olive oil, beans, poultry and fish. It discourages red meat, cheese, butter, sweets and fried foods" - [Abstract]

Cannabis Use Linked to Memory Dysfunction - Medscape, 5/7/15 - "Heavy cannabis users have an increased susceptibility to false memories, with reduced activity in brain regions linked to memory processing, and attention, and performance, new research shows ... Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) performed during the task revealed that there was reduced activity in the lateral and medial temporal lobe, along with other brain regions ... the deficits found bear similarities with alterations observed in psychiatric and neurologic conditions and also with age-related cognitive decline"

Naturally occurring amino acid could improve oral health - Science Daily, 5/7/15 - "in the lab L-arginine -- found in red meat, poultry, fish and dairy products, and is already used in dental products for tooth sensitivity--stopped the formation of dental plaque ... nearly 24 percent of adults in the United States have untreated dental caries, and about 39 percent have moderate-to-severe periodontitis, a number that rises to 64 percent for those over age 65 ... It appears arginine can change how cells stick together, and can trigger bacteria within biofilms to alter how they behave so that they no longer stick to surfaces" - See L-arginine products at Amazon.com.

Statins May Slow Prostate Cancer Progression: Study - WebMD, 5/7/15 - "Among 926 men undergoing hormone therapy for advanced prostate therapy, those taking statins saw significant benefits, researchers said. Their cancer remained stable for an average of 27.5 months before worsening, compared with an average of 17.4 months among men not taking statins ... statins keep testosterone from entering cancer cells"

Treating gum disease reduces prostate symptoms, researchers find - Science Daily, 5/5/15 - "gum disease not only affects the mouth, but is a system-wide condition that can cause inflammation in various parts of the body ... During the periodontal care, the men received no treatment for their prostate conditions. But even without prostate treatment, 21 of the 27 men showed decreased levels of PSA. Those with the highest levels of inflammation benefited the most from the periodontal treatment. Six participants showed no changes ... Bissada is now conducting follow-up research to support the first study's findings. He hopes to make periodontal treatment a standard part of treating prostate disease" - Note:  Here's a cut and paste again with my solution along with regular cleaning:

• Periogard - Needs a prescription but is usually available at you dentist for around $10.
• GUM Go-betweens Proxabrush Cleaners Wide [3614] 8 Each (Pack of 3).  These are wide and will only word for the back four slots but that's where most of the problem lies.
• Put a few tablespoons of Periogard into a small glass.  Soak the brush in it and run it between your teeth.

The dark side of cannabis: Panic attacks, nausea - Science Daily, 5/5/15 - "smoking weed -- can cause acute and chronic harms. These include panic attacks, impaired coordination of movement, and nausea, as Eva Hoch and colleagues show in a topical review article in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International"

Abstracts from this week:

Cannabis use and quality of life of adolescents and young adults: findings from an Australian birth cohort - J Psychoactive Drugs. 2015 Apr-Jun;47(2):107-16 - "After adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics and for QOL pre-cannabis use, participants who used cannabis more frequently had a lower QOL at the 21-years follow-up. Frequent use of cannabis does not appear to enhance the user's QOL and appears to be associated with a reduced QOL into young adulthood"

Association between intakes of magnesium, potassium, and calcium and risk of stroke: 2 cohorts of US women and updated meta-analyses - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 May 6 - "Pooled multivariate RRs of total stroke for women in highest compared with lowest quintiles were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.97) for total magnesium, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.99) for total potassium, and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.09) for total calcium intake. Pooled RRs for women in highest compared with lowest quintiles of a combined mineral diet score were 0.72 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.81) for total stroke, 0.78 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.92) for ischemic stroke, and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.61, 1.04) for hemorrhagic stroke. In the updated meta-analyses of all prospective studies to date, the combined RR of total stroke was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.83, 0.92) for a 100-mg/d increase of magnesium intake, 0.91 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.94) for a 1000-mg/d increase of potassium intake, and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.02) for a 300-mg/d increase of calcium intake" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com and potassium citrate at Amazon.com.

Positive Effects of a Sufficient Pre-fracture Serum Vitamin D Level on the Long-Term Survival of Hip Fracture Patients in Finland: A Minimum 11-Year Follow-Up - Drugs Aging. 2015 May 7 - "Survival was highest among patients with a vitamin D level of ≥50 nmol/L" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Ginseng Purified Dry Extract, BST204, Improved Cancer Chemotherapy-Related Fatigue and Toxicity in Mice - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:197459 - "BST204 was prepared by incubating crude ginseng extract with ginsenoside-β-glucosidase ... Treatment with BST204 significantly increased the running wheel activity and forced swimming time compared to the control group ... This result suggests that BST204 may improve chemotherapy-related fatigue and adverse toxic side effects" - See ginseng at Amazon.com.

Increases in pre-hospitalization serum 25(OH)D concentrations are associated with improved 30-day mortality after hospital admission: A cohort study - Clin Nutr. 2015 Apr 14 - "30-day all-cause mortality rate was 8% (95%CI: 1-15) lower for each 10 ng/mL increase in pre-hospital 25(OH)D (P = 0.025) compared with the 30-day all-cause mortality rate in the entire cohort. In an adjusted logistic regression model, absolute changes of ≥10 ng/mL in patients with initial 25(OH)D concentrations < 20 ng/mL (n = 1944) decreased the odds of 30-day all-cause mortality by 48% (adjusted OR 0.52; 95%CI 0.30-0.93; P = 0.026) compared to patients with changes of <10 ng/mL" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol improves hepatic steatosis by inducing autophagy through the cAMP signaling pathway - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 May 5 - "RSV improved hepatic steatosis partially by inducing autophagy in vitro and in vivo, via the cAMP-PRKA-AMPK-SIRT1 signaling pathway, which provides new evidence regarding RSV's effects on NAFLD treatment" - See ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count at Amazon.com.

Ursolic acid increases energy expenditure through enhancing free fatty acid uptake and β-oxidation via an UCP3/AMPK-dependent pathway in skeletal muscle - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 May 5 - "In diet-induced obese rats, 0.5% UA supplementation for 6 weeks markedly reduced body weight, increased energy expenditure, decreased FFA level in serum and skeletal muscle and triglyceride content in skeletal muscle ... UA increases FFA burning through enhancing skeletal muscle FFA uptake and β-oxidation via an UCP3/AMPK-dependent pathway, which provides a novel perspective on the biological function of UA against obesity and IR" - See ursolic acid at Amazon.com.

Consumption of a Polyphenol-Rich Grape-Wine Extract Lowers Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Mildly Hypertensive Subjects - Nutrients. 2015 Apr 30;7(5):3138-3153 - "In a double-blind placebo controlled crossover study, the effect of two grape extracts on BP and vascular function was assessed in 60 untreated, mildly hypertensive subjects after four weeks intervention. Both extracts (grape-red wine and grape alone) had high concentrations of anthocyanins and flavonols, but the grape alone was relatively poor in catechins and procyanidin ... 24-hour ambulatory systolic/diastolic BPs were significantly lower in the grape-wine extract intervention (135.9 ± 1.3/84.7 ± 0.8 mmHg; mean ± SEM) compared to placebo (138.9 ± 1.3/86.6 ± 1.2 mmHg), predominantly during daytime. Plasma concentrations of the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 decreased by 10%, but other measures of vascular function were not affected. Grape juice extract alone had no effect on BP or any measures of vascular function. Polyphenol-rich food products, and may be specifically catechins and procyanidins, may thus help sustain a healthy BP and contribute to the healthy Mediterranean lifestyle" - See wine extract at Amazon.com and grape seed extract at Amazon.com.

Effects of Pycnogenol® on endothelial dysfunction in borderline hypertensive, hyperlipidemic, and hyperglycemic individuals: the borderline study - Int Angiol. 2015 Feb;34(1):43-52 - "half of the subjects in each group used 150 mg/day Pycnogenol®. 31 normal subjects were included as control ... This open registry study indicates that Pycnogenol® improves EF in preclinical, borderline subjects in a macro-microcirculatory model. This observation may suggest an important preventive possibility for borderline hypertensive, hyperglycemic and hyperlipidemic subjects" - [Nutra USA] - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com.

Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation improves endothelial function and maximal oxygen uptake in endurance-trained athletes - Eur J Sport Sci. 2015 Jun;15(4):305-14 - &"The effects of dietary supplementation (n-3 PUFA at a dose of 1.3 g twice daily for 3 weeks) and placebo administration ... Significant differences between pre- and post-intervention baseline NO levels were observed after n-3 PUFA dietary protocol (13.9 ± 4.2 vs. 23.5 ± 3.6 µmol·l(-1); P < 0.001). Higher post-intervention baseline NO level was observed after n-3 PUFA diet compared with placebo (23.5 ± 3.6 vs. 15.3 ± 3.0 µmol·l (-1); P < 0.01, respectively). The n-3 PUFA increased baseline NO concentration (ΔNO) by 6.7 ± 3.8 µmol·l(-1) and placebo by 1.6 ± 4.4 µmol·l(-1). The positive correlation was observed between baseline post-intervention NO concentration and maximal oxygen uptake (r = 0.72; P < 0.01) and also between ΔNO and [Formula: see text] (r = 0.54; P < 0.05) in response to omega-3 fatty acids supplementation. There was an association between a 5.25% higher FMD (P < 0.05) and higher [Formula: see text] (P < 0.001) after n-3 PUFA diet compared with lower values of placebo" - [Nutra USA] - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com. 

Health Focus (First line medications for hypertension):