Recent Longevity News for the week ending 8/12/15

Omega-3s May Protect Against Schizophrenia - WebMD, 8/11/15 - "Omega-3 supplements may help keep young people with a high risk of schizophrenia from getting the condition ... 9.8% of the group given omega-3 supplements (4 of 41) developed psychosis, an episode where you lose touch with reality. It's a symptom of different illnesses, including schizophrenia ... 40% of the group given a fake placebo supplement (16 out of 40) developed psychosis ... The group not given omega-3s also developed psychosis more quickly and had a higher overall risk of getting other psychiatric disorders" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

The Most Effective Way to Protect an Aging Brain - WebMD, 8/7/15 - "Exercise lowered levels of toxic tau proteins and increased blood flow in the brains of people with early memory changes that put them at risk for dementia. Four months of intense exercise improved symptoms like anxiety, irritability, and depression in people with Alzheimer’s, though it didn’t help their memories. But 6 months of exercise did improve memory and thinking in people diagnosed with vascular dementia ... the not-so-great news is that studies are showing that it takes a pretty big commitment to get this protection -- at least 3 hours, or 180 minutes, of vigorous physical activity each week. That’s significantly more than the 150 minutes a week that government guidelines recommend ... rigorous physical activity is any exercise that makes you pant and sweat. And it requires people to get their heart pumping at 70% to 80% of their age-related maximum heart rate. For someone who’s 65 years old, that’s somewhere between 109 and 124 beats per minute ... Experts say in order to see the brain benefits, it’s really important to hit the right dose of physical activity"

Fish Oil for Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy - Medscape, 8/6/15 - "The supplementation of fish oil significantly (p < 0.01) increased superoxide dismutases, glutathione reductase and catalase activity in red blood cells as well as the total plasma antioxidant status in the patients. This approach of using omega-3 fatty acids as an adjuvant treatment for breast cancer may help oncologists to manage the side effects of ongoing chemotherapy by improving the antioxidant status in patients" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Consuming highly refined carbohydrates increases risk of depression - Science Daily,  8/5/15 - "progressively higher dietary GI scores and consumption of added sugars and refined grains were associated with increased risk of new-onset depression in post-menopausal women. Greater consumption of dietary fiber, whole grains, vegetables and non-juice fruits was associated with decreased risk"

Abstracts from this week:

Sustained supplementation and monitored response with differing carotenoid formulations in early age-related macular degeneration - Eye (Lond). 2015 Jul;29(7):902-12 - "macular pigment (MP) ... meso-zeaxanthin (MZ) ... contrast sensitivity (CS) ... In early AMD, MP can be augmented with a variety of supplements, although the inclusion of MZ may confer benefits in terms of panprofile augmentation and in terms of CS enhancement" - [Nutra USA] - See supplements containing meso-zeaxanthin at Amazon.com.

Higher Total Protein Intake and Change in Total Protein Intake Affect Body Composition but Not Metabolic Syndrome Indexes in Middle-Aged Overweight and Obese Adults Who Performed Resistance and Aerobic Exercise for 36 Weeks - J Nutr. 2015 Aug 5 - "body composition (BC) ... total protein intake (TPro) ... In conjunction with exercise training, higher TPro promoted positive changes in BC but not in MetS indexes in overweight and obese middle-aged adults. Changes in TPro from before to during the intervention also influenced BC responses and should be considered in future research when different TPro is achieved via diet or supplements"

Citrulline and Nonessential Amino Acids Prevent Fructose-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats - J Nutr. 2015 Aug 5 - "nonessential amino acids (NEAAs) ... Cit and NEAAs effectively prevented fructose-induced NAFLD. On the basis of literature data and our findings, we propose that NEAAs may exert their effects specifically on the liver, whereas Cit presumably acts at both the hepatic and whole-body level, in part via improved peripheral Arg metabolism" - See Stimulin at Amazon.com.

Higher Maternal Plasma n-3 PUFA and Lower n-6 PUFA Concentrations in Pregnancy Are Associated with Lower Childhood Systolic Blood Pressure - J Nutr. 2015 Aug 5 - "Higher maternal plasma n-3 PUFA and lower n-6 PUFA concentrations during pregnancy are associated with a lower systolic blood pressure in childhood" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Depression):