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Recent Longevity News for the week ending 6/24/15

 WHO adds one of world’s most popular weedkillers to list linked to cancer - The Washington Post, 6/23/15 - "The addition of 2,4-D to the WHO group's cancer list is especially significant because it is so widespread in our environment today. The chemical, made by Dow AgroSciences and contained in products such as Ortho Weed B Gone Max and Bayer Advanced Lawn Weed & Crabgrass Killer, has been found on golf courses, in parks and other grassy areas and in waters used by recreational swimmers and treated for aquatic weeds. Low-level residue has also been documented in crops and drinking water"

Diabetes medication reduces dementia risk: Analysis of health insurance data suggests preventive effect - Science Daily, 6/23/15 - "Treatment with pioglitazone showed a remarkable side benefit. It was able to significantly decrease the risk of dementia ... The longer the treatment, the lower the risk ... Risk reduction was most noticeable when the drug was administered for at least two years ... Metformin -- another frequently prescribed antidiabetic drug -- also lowered the risk of developing dementia. However, the effect was lower than that of pioglitazone" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.  Pioglitazone is harder to find.  I've been taking both in low dose for years for various anti-aging advantages.

Parkinson's disease may begin in the gut: Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract, large study indicates - Science Daily, 6/23/15 - "The research has presented strong evidence that Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract and spreads via the vagus nerve to the brain. Many patients have also suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms before the Parkinson's diagnosis is made ... Patients with Parkinson's disease are often constipated many years before they receive the diagnosis, which may be an early marker of the link between neurologic and gastroenterologic pathology related to the vagus nerve" - Note:  It raises the question whether probiotics might help prevent it.

Scientists identify amino acid that stops seizures in mice: Finding suggests novel mechanism for treating epilepsy - Science Daily, 6/19/15 - "researchers pre-treated mice with the amino acid L-leucine and another one, called D-leucine, which has a nearly identical structure to L-leucine and is essentially its biochemical mirror image ... When researchers induced seizures with shock therapy, animals pre-treated with either amino acid fared better, developing seizures at notably higher electric currents than mice that received placebo, a sign of greater seizure resistance ... L-leucine failed to abort ongoing seizures, while D-leucine effectively interrupted convulsions" - See leucine products at Amazon.com and Core Nutritionals Hmb Dietary Supplement, 90 Gram.  I doubt if you'll find the "D" form.  However, my mother had epilepsy so I'm very familiar with it and it doesn't make sense that you could give someone a supplement while they are having a seizure.

Dr. Samadi: New Study on 'Silent Killer' Prostate Cancer Is Alarming for Men - Fox News, 6/20/15 - "Dr. Samadi explained that in 2011, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) began discouraging the use of prostate-specific antigen-based screenings for prostate cancer ... that resulted in less testing, which resulted in a reduction in detections of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer"

Individuals with social phobia have too much serotonin -- not too little - Science Daily, 6/17/15 - "Social phobia is commonly medicated using SSRI compounds. These change the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Based on previous studies, it was believed that individuals with social phobia had too little serotonin and that SSRIs increased the amount of available serotonin. In a new study published in the scientific journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers from the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University show that individuals with social phobia make too much serotonin ... Serotonin can increase anxiety and not decrease it as was previously often assumed"

Trans Fats From Foods May Worsen Memory, Study Finds - WebMD, 6/17/15 - "each gram of trans fats eaten per day was associated with 12 to 21 fewer words recalled, out of an average score of 86 ... Golomb calls trans fats an "anti-food," noting that they increase levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol while simultaneously driving down levels of "good" HDL cholesterol ... Trans fats also increase inflammation and interfere with hormone production ... Besides causing inflammation, trans fats might also inhibit the body's production of omega 3 fatty acids"

Abstracts from this week:

Combined L-citrulline and glutathione supplementation increases the concentration of markers indicative of nitric oxide synthesis - J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015 Jun 10;12:27 - "Nitric oxide (NO) is endogenously synthesized from L-arginine and L-citrulline. Due to its effects on nitric oxide synthase (NOS), reduced glutathione (GSH) may protect against the oxidative reduction of NO ... plasma NOx with L-citrulline + GSH was significantly greater than control and L-citrulline" - See Stimulin at Amazon.com.  I'm not so sure taking glutathione supplements will raise glutathione.  Some say you need to take NAC.   See:

  • How to Boost Glutathione Levels - Dr. Murray's Newsletter, 7/30/03 - "When healthy subjects were given a single dose of up to 3,000 mg of glutathione researchers found there was no increase in blood glutathione levels.11 ...  In contrast, blood glutathione levels rose nearly 50% in healthy individuals taking 500 mg of vitamin C.12 Vitamin C raises glutathione by helping the body manufacture it. In addition, to vitamin C, dietary sources of glutathione and several other nutritional compounds can help increase glutathione levels including N-acetylcysteine (NAC), alpha-lipoic acid, glutamine, methionine, and whey protein. Also, vitamin B6, riboflavin, and selenium are required in the manufacture of glutathione"

Effects of l-Alanyl-l-Glutamine Ingestion on One-Hour Run Performance - J Am Coll Nutr. 2015 Jun 22:1-9 - "Results indicated that ingestion of the alanine-glutamine dipeptide at either the low or high dose significantly improved time to exhaustion during high-intensity exercise compared to a no-hydration trial" - See l-alanyl-l-glutamine at Amazon.com.  Just this morning I got an email on l-alanyl-l-glutamine.  Click here for where the email linked.

Oral omega-3 fatty acids treatment in computer vision syndrome related dry eye - Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2015 - "This study demonstrates the beneficial effect of orally administered O3FAs in alleviating dry eye symptoms, decreasing tear evaporation rate and improving Nelson grade in patients suffering from computer vision syndrome related dry eye" - [Nutra USA] - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Associations between Vitamin D Status, Supplementation, Outdoor Work and Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis Assessment - Nutrients. 2015 Jun 15 - "Pooled data showed that subjects with deficient and insufficient vitamin D levels had increased PD risks compared with matched-controls according to the corresponding OR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.63 to 2.65, and 1.29, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.51. Vitamin D supplementation was associated with significantly reduced risk of PD (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.35 to 0.90)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Plasma carotenoids and breast cancer risk in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort - Cancer Causes Control. 2015 Jun 17 - "Plasma α-carotene above the lowest quartile was associated with significant 40-43 % lower risk of invasive breast cancer risk (fourth vs. first quartile OR 0.60, 95 % CI 0.41-0.87, P-trend = 0.037) after adjustment for multiple covariates. This inverse association was strengthened after further adjustment for other plasma carotenoids and total fruit and vegetable intake (fourth vs. first quartile OR 0.50, 95 % CI 0.29-0.85, P-trend = 0.041). Other plasma carotenoids or total carotenoids were not associated with breast cancer risk" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com and carotenoids at Amazon.com.

Carotenoid consumption is related to lower lipid oxidation and DNA damage in middle-aged men - Br J Nutr. 2015 Jun 16:1-8 - "In conclusion, total daily carotenoid intake based on five investigated carotenoid types (β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein plus zeaxanthin, β-carotene and α-carotene) was inversely associated with relevant lipid and oxidative stress markers in middle-aged men, with emphasis on β-carotene that was negatively associated with five of the six lipid and oxidative stress markers evaluated in the present study" - [Nutra USA] - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com and carotenoids at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Hiking Supplies (I read a lot of reviews to find these):

Health Focus (Cataracts):