Recent Longevity News for the week ending 4/19/17

Magnesium could prevent fractures, say researchers - Science Daily, 4/12/17 - "Bone fractures are one of the leading causes of disability and ill health especially among the aging population and this increases the burden on the health care system. It is well-known that calcium and vitamin D play an important role in bone health. Magnesium is an essential nutrient and is an important component of the bone ... The risk of having a fracture was reduced by 44 per cent in men with higher blood levels of magnesium. None of the 22 men who had very high magnesium levels (> 2.3 mg/dl) in the study population experienced a fracture during the follow-up period" - See Magtein at Amazon.com.  I take two with each meal.

An Hour of Running May Add 7 Hours to Your Life - NYT, 4/12/17 - "In concrete terms, an hour of running statistically lengthens life expectancy by seven hours"

Trans Fat Ban Saved Lives in New York, Study Shows - NBC News, 4/12/17 - "Heart attacks and strokes fell by more than 6 percent three years after some New York counties banned trans fats ... Trans fats, found in oils used to make cookies, crackers, microwave popcorn and to fry fast food, stay fresh longer than liquid fats. But the chemical process used to make them solid like butter also makes them clog arteries just like butter or lard does ... The debate confused the U.S. public, and many people still believe that butter is better for health than margarine. That may have been true of the old margarines made using hydrogenated oils, but it's less true now ... Good substitutes for partially hydrogenated fats and saturated fats are liquid oils such as olive oil, canola oil and safflower oil ... a large order of Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen cajun fries contains 3.5 g of trans-fatty acids per serving, Taco Bell's Cinnabon Delights (12-pack) contain 2.0 g of trans-fatty acids per serving, and multiple varieties of Pillsbury Shape sugar cookies contain 2.5 g of trans-fatty acids per serving"

Abstracts from this week:

Vitamin D Status, Muscle Strength and Physical Performance Decline in Very Old Adults: A Prospective Study - Nutrients. 2017 Apr 13;9(4) - "Low baseline 25(OH)D may contribute to muscle strength decline in the very old and particularly in men" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Anticholinergic drug use is associated with episodic memory decline in older adults without dementia - Neurobiol Aging. 2017 Mar 16 - "Our results suggest that effects of anticholinergics may be particularly detrimental to episodic memory in older adults, which supports the assertion that the cholinergic system plays an important role in episodic memory formation" - Note: Click here for a list of anticholinergic drugs.

Joint Association of Low Vitamin D and Vitamin K Status With Blood Pressure and Hypertension  - Hypertension. 2017 Apr 10 - "The combination of low vitamin D and K status was associated with increased blood pressure and a trend for greater hypertension risk" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com and MK-7 at Amazon.com.

Impact of 3-Monthly Vitamin D Supplementation Plus Exercise on Survival after Surgery for Osteoporotic Hip Fracture in Adult Patients over 50 Years: A Pragmatic Randomized, Partially Blinded, Controlled Trial - J Nutr Health Aging. 2017;21(4):413-420 - "Patients were randomized to receive either 3-monthly oral doses of 3 mg calcifediol (Hidroferol Choque®) or placebo in the 12 months postsurgery. Patients who received calcifediol were also given an exercise programme. The placebo group received standard health recommendations only ... At 4 years after surgery, 20 (22.7%) had died, 3 (3.4%) from the intervention group and 17 (19.3%) from the non-intervention group ... 3-monthly, oral supplements of 3 mg calcifediol plus daily exercise improved survival at one-year and four-year follow up after surgery for an osteoporotic hip fracture" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

$10 Lifetime pass - America The Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass

Mile IQ has a tax day discount, $34.91 vs the usual $59.99 per year. I think you have to sign up for the free version to get the email for the discount on the full version. I was losing a lot in mileage deductions because it was too much of a hassle to track the miles. Now they send an email every day and I annotate the business and medical drives. The $34.91 is also tax deductible.

efile: "54 cents per mile driven for business purposes ... 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes ... 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations"

Health Focus (Depression):