Recent Longevity News for the week ending 11/18/15

Study Finds More Evidence Coffee Can Be a Life-Saver - NBC, 11/16/15 - "Non-smokers who drank coffee were between 8 and 15 percent less likely to die, depending on how much they drank ... People should also be aware of the amount of added sugar to coffee drinks which can become a problem ... The dark drink is the No. 1 source in the American diet of antioxidants - those chemical compounds that fight the damage to your DNA caused by day-to-day living ... The chlorogenic acid, lignans, quinides, trigonelline, and magnesium in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation"

Vitamin D Deficiency Might Be Tied to Impotence - WebMD, 11/13/15 - "The researchers concluded that men with vitamin D deficiency were 32 percent more likely to be impotent than those with sufficient vitamin D levels. This association held even after the study authors accounted for other factors associated with erectile dysfunction, such as drinking, smoking, diabetes, higher blood pressure, inflammation and certain medications" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

RA: No 'Sound Evidence' to Support Use of Cannabinoids - Medscape, 11/10/15 - "In view of the considerable limitations of the studies examined in this review, including small sample sizes, short duration, only modest efficacy and a high rate of mild to moderate adverse effects, it is not currently possible to recommend this category of treatments as therapy for patients with rheumatic diseases"

Abstracts from this week:

Pomegranate Peel Extract Prevents Bone Loss in a Preclinical Model of Osteoporosis and Stimulates Osteoblastic Differentiation in Vitro - Nutrients. 2015 Nov 11 - "in ovariectomized (OVX) C57BL/6J mice, PGPE consumption was able to significantly prevent the decrease in bone mineral density (-31.9%; p < 0.001 vs. OVX mice) and bone microarchitecture impairment ... PGPE may be effective in preventing the bone loss associated with ovariectomy in mice, and offers a promising alternative for the nutritional management of this disease" - See pomegranate extract at Amazon.com.

Association of Dietary Vitamin A and β-Carotene Intake with the Risk of Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of 19 Publications - Nutrients. 2015 Nov 11 - "he pooled RR and their 95% CI was 0.855 (0.739-0.989) for higher category of dietary vitamin A intake and lung cancer risk, especially among Asian populations and in the cohort studies. Evidence from 18 studies suggested that higher category of dietary β-carotene intake could reduce lung cancer risk (0.768" - See carotenoids at Amazon.com.

A prospective study of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and prostate cancer risk - Br J Nutr. 2015 Nov 16 - "Higher 25(OH)D concentration was associated with decreased risk of prostate cancer (ORQ4 v. Q1 0.30" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Effects of grape seed extract beverage on blood pressure and metabolic indices in individuals with pre-hypertension: a randomised, double-blinded, two-arm, parallel, placebo-controlled trial - Br J Nutr. 2015 Nov 16 - "grape seed extract (GSE) ... Subjects consumed a juice (167 kJ (40 kcal)) containing 0 mg (Placebo) or 300 mg/d GSE (150 mg) twice daily for 6 weeks ... GSE significantly reduced systolic BP (SBP) by 5.6 % (P=0.012) and diastolic BP (DBP) by 4.7 % (P=0.049) after 6 weeks of intervention period ... GSE significantly reduced systolic BP (SBP) by 5.6 % (P=0.012) and diastolic BP (DBP) by 4.7 % (P=0.049) after 6 weeks of intervention period" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.

Higher Eating Frequency Does Not Decrease Appetite in Healthy Adults - J Nutr. 2015 Nov 11 - "The results from this study in 12 healthy adults do not support the popularized notion that small, frequent meals help to decrease overall appetite"

The association of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration with peripheral arterial disease: A meta-analysis of observational studies - Atherosclerosis. 2015 Oct 14 - "circulating 25(OH)D concentrations were lower in PAD patients compared with non-PAD participants (SMD = -0.32" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Inflammatory potential of diet and risk for hepatocellular cancer in a case-control study from Italy - Br J Nutr. 2015 Nov 11:1-8 - "dietary inflammatory index (DII). The DII was computed on the basis of dietary intake assessed 2 years before the date of interview ... Participants in the highest tertile of DII scores (i.e. with a more pro-inflammatory diet) had a higher risk for HCC (ORtertile 3 v, 1 2.43"

New Antiglycative Compounds from Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) Spice - J Agric Food Chem. 2015 Nov 7 - "At equivalent concentrations, several of the isolates, including cuminoids C-E, were more potent inhibitors than the positive control, aminoguanidine, a synthetic antiglycative agent (>50 vs. 35%, respectively)" - See aminoguanidine at IAS.  See curcumin products at Amazon.com. 

Health Focus (Mediterranean Diet):