Recent Longevity News for the week ending 12/2/15

Can physical exercise enhance long-term memory? - Science Daily, 11/25/15 - "mice that spent time running on wheels not only developed twice the normal number of new neurons, but also showed an increased ability to distinguish new objects from familiar objects ... studies have shown that exercise can improve spatial navigation, contextual memory and the ability to distinguish between highly similar objects or stimuli (pattern separation) in rodents and humans ... Because exercise can increase the rate of new neurons being produced, it makes it an attractive candidate for therapeutic purposes. Studies have shown that exercise can have both structural and cognitive benefits in rodent models of pathological conditions like Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and Alzheimer's disease"

Lower availability of omega-3 fatty acids in the body associated with bipolar disorder - Science Daily, 11/24/15 - "the availability of omega-3 in the body is lower in bipolar subjects ... Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can shift the balance of inflammation, which we think is important in bipolar disorder ... However, the researchers did not find altered ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in bipolar subjects ... Although the researchers did find lower levels of omega-3s in patients with bipolar disorder that correlated with symptoms" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

The Role of Curcumin Administration in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: Mini Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials - Phytother Res. 2015 Nov 27 - "Several studies have demonstrated that curcumin, the yellow-pigmented substance of the turmeric, possesses antidepressant properties ... Overall, curcumin administration showed a significantly higher reduction in depression symptoms [SMD = -0.34; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.56, -0.13; p = 0.002]. Subgroup analyses showed that curcumin had the highest effect when given to middle-aged patients (SMD = -0.36; 95% CI = -0.59; -0.13; p = 0.002), for longer duration of administration (SMD = -0.40; 95% CI = -0.64, -0.16; p = 0.001), and at higher doses (SMD = -0.36; 95% CI = -0.59, -0.13; p = 0.002). The administration of new formulation of curcumin (BCM-95) had non-significantly higher effect on depression as compared with the conventional curcumin-piperine formula" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Relation between plasma antioxidant vitamin levels, adiposity and cardio-metabolic profile in adolescents: Effects of a multidisciplinary obesity programme - Clin Nutr. 2015 Nov 7 - "Plasma lipid-soluble antioxidant vitamin and carotenoid levels are associated with reduced adiposity, greater weight loss and an improved cardio-metabolic profile in overweight and obese adolescents"

Coleus forskohlii Extract Supplementation in Conjunction with a Hypocaloric Diet Reduces the Risk Factors of Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight and Obese Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Nutrients. 2015 Nov 17 - "Limited studies have shown that Coleus forskohlii extract may aid in weight management ... Thirty participants completed the trial and they were randomly assigned to receive either 250 mg of C. forskohlii extract (n = 15) or a placebo twice daily for 12 weeks ... The experimental group showed a favorable improvement in insulin concentration and insulin resistance (p = 0.001; 0.01 respectively) compared to the placebo group" - See Coleus forskohlii products at Amazon.com.

The Combination of Resveratrol and Quercetin Attenuates Metabolic Syndrome in Rats by Modifying the Serum Fatty Acid Composition and by Upregulating SIRT 1 and SIRT 2 Expression in White Adipose Tissue - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:474032 - "Resveratrol (RSV) and quercetin (QRC) modify energy metabolism and reduce cardiovascular risk factors included in the metabolic syndrome (MetS). These natural compounds upregulate and activate sirtuins (SIRTs), a family of NAD-dependent histone deacetylases ... In MetS rats body mass, central adiposity, insulin, triglycerides, non-HDL-C, leptin, adiponectin, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) were increased, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and HDL-C were decreased. SIRT 1 and SIRT 2 were downregulated, while PPAR-γ was increased. RSV + QRC administration improved the serum health parameters modified by MetS and upregulate SIRT 1 and SIRT 2 expression in white abdominal tissue in MetS animals" - See ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count at Amazon.com and quercetin at Amazon.com.

Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial - J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015 Nov 25 - "Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) ... Subjects in the treatment group consumed 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice daily, while the control group consumed starch placebos ... Compared to the placebo subjects, the group treated with ashwagandha had significantly greater increases in muscle strength on the bench-press exercise (Placebo: 26.4 kg, 95 % CI, 19.5, 33.3 vs. Ashwagandha: 46.0 kg, 95 % CI 36.6, 55.5; p = 0.001) and the leg-extension exercise (Placebo: 9.8 kg, 95 % CI, 7.2,12.3 vs. Ashwagandha: 14.5 kg, 95 % CI, 10.8,18.2; p = 0.04), and significantly greater muscle size increase at the arms (Placebo: 5.3 cm2, 95 % CI, 3.3,7.2 vs. Ashwagandha: 8.6 cm2, 95 % CI, 6.9,10.8; p = 0.01) and chest (Placebo: 1.4 cm, 95 % CI, 0.8, 2.0 vs. Ashwagandha: 3.3 cm, 95 % CI, 2.6, 4.1; p < 0.001). Compared to the placebo subjects, the subjects receiving ashwagandha also had significantly greater reduction of exercise-induced muscle damage as indicated by the stabilization of serum creatine kinase (Placebo: 1307.5 U/L, 95 % CI, 1202.8, 1412.1, vs. Ashwagandha: 1462.6 U/L, 95 % CI, 1366.2, 1559.1; p = 0.03), significantly greater increase in testosterone level (Placebo: 18.0 ng/dL, 95 % CI, -15.8, 51.8 vs. Ashwagandha: 96.2 ng/dL, 95 % CI, 54.7, 137.5; p = 0.004), and a significantly greater decrease in body fat percentage (Placebo: 1.5 %, 95 % CI, 0.4 %, 2.6 % vs. Ashwagandha: 3.5 %, 95 % CI, 2.0 %, 4.9 %; p = 0.03)" - [Nutra USA] - See ashwagandha at Amazon.com.

Vegetable and fruit consumption and the risk of hormone receptor-defined breast cancer in the EPIC cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Nov 25 - "Compared with the lowest quintile, the highest quintile of vegetable intake was associated with a lower risk of overall breast cancer (HRquintile 5-quintile 1: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.94). Although the inverse association was most apparent for ER-PR- breast cancer (ER-PR-: HRquintile 5-quintile 1: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.96; P-trend = 0.03; ER+PR+: HRquintile 5-quintile 1: 0.91 ... Fruit intake was not significantly associated with total and hormone receptor-defined breast cancer risk" - Note:  I'm thinking that the higher sugar levels in the blood from fruits offset the benefit from the phytonutrients.  It's one of the reasons I take metformin even though I don't have diabetes.

Curcumin induces apoptosis by inhibiting sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ca2+ ATPase activity in ovarian cancer cells - Cancer Lett. 2015 Nov 19 - "Curcumin induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells in a concentration- and time- dependent manner" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Very-low-fat diets may be associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome in the adult population - Clin Nutr. 2015 Oct 16 - "odds ratios (OR) ... Surprisingly, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in the ≤15% fat intake group (OR = 1.277), accompanied by lower daily energy intake compared to the reference group (≥25% fat intake). Higher daily fat intake was associated with significantly lower ORs for four components of metabolic syndrome, except diabetes mellitus, using continuous variable analysis, whereas only three serum components (serum HDL, serum triglyceride, and blood pressure) exhibited significantly higher ORs in the lowest tertile of dietary fat intake (≤15%) compared with the reference group (≥25% fat-intake tertile) ... Subjects in the low-fat group (≤15%) had much lower daily energy intake, by 500 kcal, compared with subjects who consumed high-fat diets (≥25%)"

Vitamin D Supplementation Affects the Beck Depression Inventory, Insulin Resistance, and Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial - J Nutr. 2015 Nov 25 - "major depressive disorder (MDD) ... Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) ... Overall, vitamin D supplementation of patients with MDD for 8 wk had beneficial effects on the BDI, indicators of glucose homeostasis, and oxidative stress" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Dairy Consumption Lowers Systemic Inflammation and Liver Enzymes in Typically Low-Dairy Consumers with Clinical Characteristics of Metabolic Syndrome - J Am Coll Nutr. 2015 Nov 23:1-7 - "This was a randomized study in which participants consumed low-fat dairy (LFD) (10 oz 1% milk, 6 oz nonfat yogurt, 4 oz 2% cheese) or a carbohydrate-based control (CNT) (1.5 oz granola bar and 12 oz 100% juice) for 6 weeks ... Participants had lower concentrations of both hepatic alanine aminotransferase (p < 0.05) and aspartate aminotransferase (p < 0.005) after the LFD period. No significant changes in any of the plasma inflammatory compounds were found when all data were analyzed together. In contrast, expression of IL-1b and IL-6 were reduced by 46% and 63%, respectively, compared to the control period ... We conclude that three dairy servings per day improved both liver function and systemic inflammation in subjects with MetS" - See my Greek yogurt recipe at the top of my yogurt page.

Dietary Supplementation with Olive Oil or Fish Oil and Vascular Effects of Concentrated Ambient Particulate Matter Exposure in Human Volunteers - Environ Health Perspect; DOI:10.1289/ehp.1408988 - "Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) induces endothelial dysfunction, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Olive oil (OO) and fish oil (FO) supplements have beneficial effects on endothelial function ... particulate matter (PM) ... Forty-two participants (58 ± 1 years of age) received either 3 g/day of OO or FO, or no supplements (naive) for 4 weeks prior to undergoing 2-hr exposures to filtered air and concentrated ambient particulate matter ... Short-term exposure to CAP induced vascular endothelial dysfunction. OO supplementation attenuated CAP-induced reduction of FMD and changes in blood markers associated with vasoconstriction and fibrinolysis, suggesting that OO supplementation may be an efficacious intervention to protect against vascular effects of exposure to PM" - [Nutra USA]

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Nestle NIDO Fortificada Dry Milk, 3.52 Pound Canister - This is what I use to make my yogurt (50% and 50% non-fat).  Note the $2 coupon and the 15% off for automatic reorder.  Also you can get another 5% off for an Amazon Store Card.  It's a good price even without the coupon.

Health Focus (Green Tea):