Recent Longevity News for the week ending 7/5/17

With health care cuts looming, low-cost magnesium a welcome option for treating depression - Science Daily, 6/27/17 - "Critical to such body functions as heart rhythm, blood pressure and bone strength, the mineral magnesium plays a role in combating inflammation in the body and has been proven to have an association with depression ... the University of Vermont's Clinical Research Center, and colleagues conducted a clinical trial of over-the-counter oral magnesium tablets for mild-to-moderate depression. Their results showed that magnesium is safe and effective and comparable to prescription SSRI treatments in effectiveness ... Participants in the active arm of the study received 248 milligrams of elemental magnesium per day over six weeks ... positive effects were shown quickly, at two weeks" - See Magtein at Amazon.com.

Olive Oil Key Ingredient in Alzheimer's Prevention? - Medscape, 6/27/17 - "mice fed the EVOO-enriched diet performed significantly better at both 9 and 12 months on tests designed to assess working memory, spatial memory, and learning abilities compared with mice fed regular chow ... The researchers also found a statistically significant reduction in the amount of Aβ peptides deposited in the brains of the EVOO-treated animals compared with controls ... There was also a significant reduction in the phosphorylated forms of tau in mice fed the EVOO-enriched chow compared to controls" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.

An Eye to Health: Diet and Age-Related Macular Degeneration - Medscape, 6/27/17 - "The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found that a specific formulation of antioxidants and minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper, reduced the risk of patients with intermediate AMD developing the advanced form of the condition by 25% over 5 years.[12] Subsequently, the follow-up AREDS 2 study found that lutein and zeaxanthin can be substituted for beta-carotene, which has been linked to increased risk for lung cancer, particularly among former smokers ... Beyond high-dose supplementation, intake of antioxidants and omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids through daily diet has also been reported to reduce AMD risk ... a high glycemic index (GI) diet is a risk factor for AMD.[9,17] The GI represents a food's impact on blood glucose levels relative to pure glucose (GI = 100). Consumption of higher-GI foods results in higher blood glucose levels. High GI foods (GI > 70) include white rice, white bread, and potatoes, whereas whole grains, lentils, and nonstarchy vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage have a low GI (GI < 55). High-GI diets are associated with accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) that are formed when cellular proteins are modified by sugar molecules or their metabolites"

Abstracts from this week:

Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on the frequency, severity, and duration of migraine attacks: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - Nutr Neurosci. 2017 Jun 30 - "In conclusion, omega-3 intake leads to a significant reduction of approximately 3.44 hours in the duration of migraine" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Preventive Effects of Ginseng Total Saponins on Chronic Corticosterone-Induced Impairment in Astrocyte Structural Plasticity and Hippocampal Atrophy - Phytother Res. 2017 Jun 28 - "ginseng total saponins (GTS) ... These findings imply that the effects of GTS on corticosterone-induced depression-like behavior may be mediated partly through the protection to hippocampal astrocyte structural plasticity" - See ginseng at Amazon.com.

Daily oral consumption of hydrolyzed type 1 collagen is chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory in murine posttraumatic osteoarthritis - PLoS One. 2017 Apr 6 - "posttraumatic OA (PTOA) ... These findings establish that in the context of murine knee PTOA, daily oral consumption of hCol1 is chondroprotective, anti-apoptotic in articular chondrocytes, and anti-inflammatory. While the underlying mechanism driving these effects is yet to be determined, these findings provide the first tissue and cellular level information explaining the already published evidence of symptom relief supported by hCol1 in human knee OA. These results suggest that oral consumption of hCol1 is disease modifying in the context of PTOA" - [Nutra USA] - See Peptan® Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein Powder - For Hair - Nails - Joint Pain Relief - Skin Care - Appetite Suppressant - Building Muscle - Bone Density - Osteopenia at Amazon.com.

Effects of salt loading and potassium supplement on the circadian blood pressure profile in salt-sensitive Chinese patients - Blood Press Monit. 2017 Jun 16 - "Salt-sensitive (SS) patients ... Approximately 49 normotensive and mildly hypertensive Chinese patients received a study protocol of a 3 days of baseline examination, 7 days of a low-salt diet (3 g NaCl/day), 7 days of a high-salt diet (18 g NaCl/day), and 7 days of a high-salt diet with a potassium supplement (18 g NaCl and 4.5 g KCl/day) ... Compared with the high-salt loading period, the night-to-day blood pressure ratio was significantly reversed by potassium supplement in SS patients (systolic 0.91±0.01 vs. 0.96±0.01, P<0.05; diastolic 0.91±0.01 vs. 0.96±0.01, P<0.05)" (I think the diastolic is a typo) - See potassium citrate at Amazon.com.

Effect of high-protein meal replacement on weight and cardiometabolic profile in overweight/obese Asian Indians in North India - Br J Nutr. 2017 Jun 2 - "high-protein meal replacement (HPMR) ... These findings show that intervention with HPMR may lead to significant weight loss and improvement in obesity measures, metabolic, lipid and inflammatory parameters and hepatic transaminases in overweight/obese Asian Indians"

Health Focus (Alpha Lipoic Acid):