Recent Longevity News for the week ending 5/31/17

Recommended daily protein intake too low for the elderly - Science Daily, 5/23/17 - "The RDA you will find on the nutrition labels on your food, however, were set in 1968, and the ones used by researchers and professionals were set in 2003. A recent review published in Frontiers in Nutrition points out that both these values do not do justice to the protein needs of the elderly and critically ill ... A big disservice is being done. The prescribed 0.8 g/kg/day just isn't enough protein for the elderly and people with a clinical condition .... he points out that the quality of proteins should be considered when setting the RDA guidelines and recommending protein supplements. He argues that there should be a stronger focus on leucine; an indispensable amino acid and building block for proteins. The elderly have a higher need for leucine to build muscle proteins, and milk-based proteins (e.g. milk and whey) are a good source for this" - See BulkSupplements Pure L-Leucine Powder (1 Kilogram).

Chondroitin sulfate as good as widely used anti-inflammatory for knee osteoarthritis - Science Daily, 5/23/17 - "They conclude that a daily dose of 800 mg of pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate is better than a dummy product and as good as celecoxib in reducing pain and improving joint function in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis" - See chondroitin sulfate at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D supplements could improve fertility - Science Daily, 5/23/17 - "Research from her group and others suggests vitamin D affects many aspects of fertility in both genders, including influencing production and maturation of sperm cells in men, egg cell and uterine lining maturation in women, and sex hormone production in both sexes. Vitamin D levels have been associated with in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) outcome, some features of PCOS and endometriosis in women. In men, levels of vitamin D have been linked to semen quality and male hormone levels in both fertile and infertile men" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Fiber-rich diet linked to lowered risk of painful knee osteoarthritis - Science Daily, 5/23/17 - "eating more fibre was associated with a lower risk of painful knee osteoarthritis. Compared with the lowest intake (bottom 25 per cent of participants), the highest intake (top 25 per cent) was associated with a 30 per cent lower risk in the OAI and a 61 per cent lower risk in the Framingham study"

Probiotic use linked to improved symptoms of depression - Science Daily, 5/23/17 - "twice as many adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) reported improvements from co-existing depression when they took a specific probiotic than adults with IBS who took a placebo ... The study provides further evidence of the microbiota environment in the intestines being in direct communication with the brain" - [Abstract] [Nutra USA] - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

A drink a day tied to higher breast cancer risk, report says - CNN, 5/23/17 - "Sipping an average of 10 grams of alcohol a day -- equivalent to a small glass of wine, an 8-ounce beer or 1 ounce of hard liquor -- is associated with a 5% increased breast cancer risk in premenopausal women and 9% increase in postmenopausal women"

Abstracts from this week:

Effects of supplementation with quercetin on plasma C-reactive protein concentrations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2017 May 24 - "The meta-analysis of seven RCTs (10 treatment arms) showed a significant reduction of circulating CRP levels (WMD: -0.33 mg/l; 95% CI: -0.50 to -0.15; P<0.001) following quercetin supplementation" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.  Note:  Remember when CRP was the cover story on Time Magazine.  Now everyone seems to have forgotten about it.

Folic Acid Modulates DMBA/TPA-Induced Changes in Skin of Mice: A Study Relevant to Carcinogenesis - J Diet Suppl. 2017 May 17:16 - "FA decreased the expression of ODC and PCNA in skin and activity of serum lactate dehydrogenase, suggesting inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and cell damage" - See methylfolate at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D Supplementation Trials Aimed at Reducing Mortality Have Much Higher Power When Focusing on People with Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations - J Nutr. 2017 May 24 - "An inverse association between serum 25(OH)D and mortality was observed only for participants with vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency and was strongest for the latter. Accordingly, the expected effects were much stronger and the expected power was much higher for interventions that targeted these groups than for untargeted interventions ... For example, a targeted intervention study with 10,000 older adults (age 50-75 y) with serum 25(OH)D <50 nmol/L that increases serum 25(OH)D concentrations by 20 nmol/L in the intervention group (n = 5000) would be expected to yield a 26% reduction of all-cause mortality that could be detected with 89% power within 5 y of follow-up compared with a 10% mortality reduction and 20% power in an untargeted intervention study of the same size" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

The effect of replacing saturated fat with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fat on coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials - Nutr J. 2017 May 19;16(1):30 - "Available evidence from adequately controlled randomised controlled trials suggest replacing SFA with mostly n-6 PUFA is unlikely to reduce CHD events, CHD mortality or total mortality. The suggestion of benefits reported in earlier meta-analyses is due to the inclusion of inadequately controlled trials"

Lutein exerts anti-inflammatory effects in patients with coronary artery disease - Atherosclerosis. 2017 May 6;262:87-93 - "stable angina (SA) ... peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) ... Only lutein + zeaxanthin were inversely correlated with IL-6 in SA patients at baseline (r = -0.366, p < 0.001) and follow-up (r = -0.546, p < 0.001). Ex vivo, lutein was taken up by PBMCs from SA patients in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Pre-treatment with lutein dose-dependently lowered LPS-induced secretion of IL-6, IL-1β (p < 0.01) and TNF (p < 0.05), and also reduced IL-6, IL-1β and TNF mRNA expression (p < 0.05)" - See lutein at Amazon.com. 

Health Focus (Quercetin):