Recent Longevity News for the week ending 6/3/15

Average U.S. Diet May Kill Prostate Cancer Survivors - NBC News, 6/2/15 - "men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer whose diet was more 'Westernized,' i.e., contained processed meats, refined grains, potatoes, and high-fat dairy, were more likely to die of prostate cancer ... They were more than 2.5 times as likely to die of their prostate cancer than patients eating the healthiest diet and they were more than one and a half times as likely to have died of anything over the 10 years"

Gut check: Does a hospital stay set patients up for sepsis by disrupting the body’s microbiome? - Science Daily, 6/1/15 - "We know that a major cause of microbiome disruption is antibiotic use. This study hints -- it does not prove, but it hints -- that profligate use of antibiotics might not just be bad because of antibiotic resistance. Profligate use of antibiotics might also, via the microbiome, put patients at increased risk of both all kinds of other infections, and to having a particularly bad response ('sepsis') to those infections" - Note:  It just seems like even if you go in for minor surgery they give you enough antibiotics via IV to kill an elephant.  See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

Before an operation, low blood pressure rather than high is a risk factor for death - Science Daily, 5/29/15 - "For patients with a systolic BP of below 100 mmHg, the likelihood of death increased by 40%. For those with a diastolic BP of under 40mmHg, the likelihood of death increased by 2.5 times. While the risk from hypotension was present in patients with low systolic or low diastolic pressure, values below 100/40 were of greatest risk"

Fasting Triglycerides Predict CVD Risk in Statin-Treated Patients - Medscape, 5/29/15 - "those with the highest triglyceride levels at baseline (>175 mg/dL) had a significant 61% increased relative risk of cardiovascular events compared with individuals with the lowest triglyceride levels (<80 mg/dL) ... Even in patients with triglycerides in the 130-to-175-mg/dL range, which is at best considered minimally abnormal by current standards, we saw a significant increase in risk in those patients compared with those patients in the lowest quintile ... For the patient with moderately elevated triglycerides, say 150 mg/dL, lifestyle modification—diet, exercise, limiting alcohol intake, controlling existing diabetes, among other things—is first and foremost ... If triglycerides are still elevated, I might have a discussion with the patient regarding the adjunctive use of fish oil" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Women of all ages more likely to have serious mental health problems than men, report says - The Washington Post, 5/28/14 - See chart I: "2009-2013: Percentage of adults aged 18 and over with limitations in activities of daily living, serious psychological distress"

Cannabis Smoking Common, Affects Cognition in MS - Medscape, 5/28/15 - "From 40% to 70% of patients with MS have some impairment in information processing speed, working memory, visual-spatial memory, and/or executive function. Dr Feinstein's own research shows that smoking marijuana can make those deficits worse ... if they start smoking cannabis, the numbers go up; it aggravates preexisting cognitive deficits ... One of his studies showed that persons who had smoked marijuana were about 50% slower on a single-digit test than nonsmokers"

Long life: Balancing protein and carb intake may work as well as calorie restriction - Science Daily, 5/28/15 - "The investigators compared three 8-week diets varying in protein-to-carbohydrate ratio under conditions where food was restricted or food was available at all times. Of the three, low protein, high carbohydrate (LPHC) diets offered when food was always available delivered similar benefits as calorie restriction in terms of insulin, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels, despite increased food intake ... Even though the mice on LPHC diets ate more when food was always available, their metabolism was higher than that of mice on the calorie-restricted diet, and they did not gain more weight. Calorie restriction did not provide any additional benefits for LPHC mice"

Metformin use associated with reduced risk of developing open-angle glaucoma - Science Daily, 5/28/15 - "patients prescribed the highest amount of metformin (greater than 1,110 grams in two years) had a 25 percent reduced risk of OAG risk compared with those who took no metformin. Every one-gram increase in metformin was associated with a 0.16 percent reduction in OAG risk, which means that taking a standard dose of 2 grams of metformin per day for two years would result in a 20.8 percent reduction in risk of OAG ... this study points out the importance of understanding the potential impact of CR (caloric restriction) mimetic drugs on the risk of developing other medical conditions that affect older persons" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Surprising finding from heart study: Moderate drinking may have ‘cardiotoxic’ effects in elderly hearts - The Washington Post, 5/27/15  - "In a study of 4,466 people between the ages of 71 and 81, researchers found that even a limited alcohol intake of two or more servings a day for men and one or more for women was associated with subtle alterations in cardiac structure and function. Of those affected, the men experienced enlarged left ventricle walls while the women saw a small reduction in heart function"

Increasing dietary fiber reduces risk of developing diabetes - Science Daily, 5/26/15 - "participants with the highest total fiber intake (more than 26 g/day) had an 18% lower risk of developing diabetes compared to those with the lowest total fiber intake (less than 19g/day) ... those with the highest levels of cereal and vegetable fiber consumption had a 19% and 16% lower risk of developing diabetes respectively, compared with those with the lowest consumption of these types of fiber. Again, these associations disappeared when the results were adjusted for BMI. By contrast, fruit fiber was not associated with a reduction in diabetes risk ... potential mechanisms could include feeling physically full for longer, prolonged release of hormonal signals, slowed down nutrient absorption, or altered fermentation in the large intestine. All these mechanisms could lead to a lower BMI and reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes"

Abstracts from this week:

Quantitative assessment of the effects of beta-glucan consumption on serum lipid profile and glucose level in hypercholesterolemic subjects - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2015 Apr 29 - "Seventeen eligible RCTs with 916 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled result showed that beta-glucan consumption in hypercholesterolemic population significantly lowered the total cholesterol (TC) (MD, -0.26 mmol/L; 95% CI, -0.33 to -0.18; P < 0.00001) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentration (MD, -0.21 mmol/L; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.14; P < 0.00001)" - See beta-glucan at Amazon.com.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on hepatic fat and associated cardiovascular risk factors in overweight children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2015 Apr 25 - "The main outcome was the change in hepatic fat fraction as estimated by magnetic resonance imaging. Secondary outcomes were changes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT), epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), and left ventricular (LV) function, as well as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), triglycerides, body mass index-standard deviation score (BMI-SDS), and insulin sensitivity. At 6 months, the liver fat was reduced by 53.4% (95% CI, 33.4-73.4) in the DHA group, as compared with 22.6% (6.2-39.0) in the placebo group (P = 0.040 for the comparison between the two groups). Likewise, in the DHA group VAT and EAT were reduced by 7.8% (0-18.3) and 14.2% (0-28.2%), as compared with 2.2% (0-8.1) and 1.7% (0-6.8%) in the placebo group, respectively" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Niacin inhibits fat accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammatory cytokine IL-8 in cultured hepatocytes: Impact on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - Metabolism. 2015 May 7 - "These findings suggest that niacin, through inhibiting hepatocyte DGAT2 and NADPH oxidase activity, attenuates hepatic fat accumulation and ROS production respectively. Decreased ROS production, at least in part, may have contributed to the inhibition of pro-inflammatory IL-8 levels. These mechanistic studies may be useful for the clinical development of niacin and niacin-related compounds for the treatment of NAFLD/NASH and its complications" - See niacin at Amazon.com.

Higher dietary anthocyanin and flavonol intakes are associated with anti-inflammatory effects in a population of US adults - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 May 27 - "calculated from validated food-frequency questionnaires ... an inverse association between higher anthocyanin and flavonol intakes and IS was observed with a mean ± SE difference between quintile categories 5 and 1 of -1.48" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com and Jarrow Formulas OPCs + 95 100mg, Grape Seed Extract, 100 Capsules at Amazon.com.

Effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on hepatic dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in high fat diet-induced steatosis - Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2015 May 28 - "Hepatic superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione levels were significantly decreased in obese mice, but increased with EPA administration. Our data suggest that EPA supplementation has a beneficial effect on NAFLD progression" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Higher Protein Intake Is Associated with Higher Lean Mass and Quadriceps Muscle Strength in Adult Men and Women - J Nutr. 2015 May 27 - "total protein (TP), animal protein (AP), and plant protein (PP) intake ... In men and women, leg lean mass was higher in participants in the highest quartile of TP and AP intake compared with those in the lowest quartiles of intake [least squares means (kg): TP-17.6 vs. 17.1 in men, P-trend: 0.005, and 11.7 vs. 11.4 in women, P-trend: 0.006; AP-17.6 vs. 17.1 in men, P-trend: 0.002, and 11.7 vs. 11.4 in women, P-trend: 0.003]. PP intake was not associated with lean mass in either sex. In men and women, quadriceps strength was higher in participants in the highest quartile of PP intake compared with those in the lowest quartile [least squares means (kg): 22.9 vs. 21.7 in men, P-trend: 0.01, and 19.0 vs. 18.2 in women, P-trend: 0.01]; this association was no longer significant after adjustment for fruit and vegetable intake (P-trend: 0.06 in men and 0.10 in women). Although no significant association was observed for AP intake in either sex, nonsignificant protective trends were observed for TP intake (P-trend: 0.08 in men and 0.10 in women)"

Citrulline Supplementation Induces Changes in Body Composition and Limits Age-Related Metabolic Changes in Healthy Male Rats - J Nutr. 2015 May 27 - "nonessential amino acids (NEAAs) ... Compared with the NEAA-treated group, citrulline supplementation was associated with lower mortality (0% vs. 20%; P = 0.05), 9% higher lean body mass (P < 0.05), and 13% lower fat mass (P < 0.05). Compared with the NEAA-treated group, citrulline-treated rats had greater muscle mass (+14-48% depending on type of muscle; P < 0.05 for tibialis, gastrocnemius, and plantaris). Susceptibility to oxidation of lipoproteins, as measured by the maximal concentration of 7-ketocholesterol after copper-induced VLDL and LDL oxidation, was lower in citrulline-treated rats than in NEAA-treated rats (187 ± 8 μmol/L vs. 243 ± 7 μmol/L; P = 0.0005)" - See Stimulin at Amazon.com.

Lutein suppresses inflammatory responses through Nrf2 activation and NF-κB inactivation in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV-2 microglia - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 May 27 - "These results suggest that lutein attenuates neuroinflammation in LPS-activated BV-2 microglia partly through inhibiting p38-, JNK- and Akt-stimulated NF-κB activation and promoting ERK-induced Nrf2 activation, suggesting that lutein has great potential as a nutritional preventive strategy in inflammation-related neurodegenerative disorders" - See lutein at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

How to Make Chicken with Broccoli - YouTube - 5:58 - Great 15 minute recipe with easy ingredients (you don’t have to make a long list and go to the store).  It shows two versions.  Go with the first version, just use olive oil instead.  Some studies claim that the good fats actually reduce abdominal fat (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130329125110.htm).  I eat a lot of olive oil and have a 30 inch waste and a 40 inch chest and I’m old.  I used Panda Sauce For Broccoli Beef, 8-Ounce (Pack of 6) for the sauce (two packets for the double recipe).  Click here for his recipe for the brown sauce but that's more time and work than the chicken with broccoli recipe itself.  The Panda Sauce did have a thicker consistency than the brown sauce shown in the video but that didn't seem to be a problem at all.   I didn't have any potato starch so I used corn starch and it still turned out great.  It doesn't show the rice but I put it on top of brown rice.  That recipe is only one serving for me so you'll have to at least double it.  That second version in the video is probably 98% fat free and I’m sure it doesn't taste well though I've haven't tried it.

The best kitchen scale - engadget.com, 5/20/15 - "If you need an all-purpose digital kitchen scale for baking, cooking by ratio, or even measuring beans to brew coffee, the Jennings CJ4000 ($26) combines some of the best features we've seen in a scale. It's easy to use and store, comes with an AC adapter to save on batteries, and you can disable the auto-off function so you can take your sweet time mixing or brewing. The Jennings costs only a few dollars more than a bare-bones model, but does something none of them can: it measures in half grams for even better precision" - See Jennings CJ4000 at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Advance Glycation End Products):