Recent Longevity News for the week ending 9/6/17

Eating protein three times a day could make our seniors stronger - Science Daily, 8/30/17 - "We observed that participants of both sexes who consumed protein in a balanced way during the day had more muscle strength than those who consumed more during the evening meal and less at breakfast. However, the distribution of protein throughout the day was not associated with their mobility ... All body tissues, including the muscles, are composed of proteins, which consist of amino acids. If the protein intake decreases, the synthesis is not done correctly and this leads to a loss of muscle mass ... "Our research is based on scientific evidence demonstrating that older people need to consume more protein per meal because they need a greater boost of amino acids for protein synthesis," says Dr. Chevalier, adding that one of the essential amino acids known for protein renewal is leucine" - See BulkSupplements Pure L-Leucine Powder (1 Kilogram).

Does Cooking Boost Nutrients in Tomatoes and Spinach? - NYT, 9/1/17 - "Raw spinach provides a lot of fiber, but cooked spinach may provide more beta carotene: One study found that three times as much beta carotene — an antioxidant that’s a form of vitamin A — was absorbed from cooked spinach compared with raw spinach"

Intestinal Microbiota Is Altered in Patients With Colon Cancer and Modified by Probiotic Intervention - Medscape, 8/30/17 - "Our results show promise for potential therapeutic benefits in CRC by manipulation of the microbiota" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

Can Your ‘Good’ Cholesterol Be Too High? - NYT, 8/29/17 - "an HDL of 73 milligrams per deciliter in men and 93 in women was associated with the lowest all-cause mortality. Compared with that, men with HDL levels of 97 to 115 had a 36 percent increased risk for death, and twice the risk above 116. Women at greater than 135 had a 68 percent increased risk. (Only 2.3 percent of men had levels above 97, and 0.3 percent of women had levels above 135.) ... Low HDL, too, was tied to higher mortality risk, consistent with other studies. At levels under 39, the lower the HDL, the greater the increased risk for death"

Drink Coffee, Live Longer? - WebMD, 8/28/17 - "those who drank at least four cups of coffee a day had a 64 percent lower risk of death from any cause than those who drank little or no coffee on a regular basis ... After examining additional data, the researchers said they found the benefit of drinking coffee was even more notable among the participants who were 45 or older. Among these folks, drinking two extra cups of coffee a day was linked with a 30 percent lower risk of death during the follow-up period"

• To the K-Cup and beyond: Single serve coffee makers reviewed - CNET Reviews, 9/8/13 - "what really stood out for us was the differences in flavor between each unit, even using the same kind of coffee ... The sturdy Bunn MyCafe MCU is our favorite brewer so far, for its sturdy construction, retro design, and, most importantly because it makes the most flavorful cup of coffee" - See BUNN MCU Single Cup Multi-Use Brewer at Amazon.com.  It takes both pods and coffee grounds which isn't clear until you get toward the end of the full review.  Everyone seems to be selling the pods these days including Costco and the military commissaries.  My favorite is the San Francisco French Roast at Amazon.com.

How low should LDL cholesterol go? - Science Daily, 8/28/17 - "Researchers found that the risk for cardiovascular events (including cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke) over 2.2 years progressively declined as LDL cholesterol levels decreased to below 20 mg/dL (0.5 mmol/L), and participants who achieved an LDL-C of less than 10 mg/dL (0.26 mmol/L) had a more than 40 percent lower risk of cardiovascular events than those with an LDL cholesterol equal to or greater than 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L) ... Our findings demonstrate that there is essentially no floor effect, and that lower levels translated to a greater reduction in risk"

Is telomere length associated with the cognitive response to a lifestyle intervention?: Supporting evidence from the FINGER trial - Science Daily, 8/28/17 - "This suggests to us that participants with shorter LTL had more room for lifestyle improvements when they entered the study ... When telomere length is shortened, their capacities to protect DNA are compromised. LTL is considered a biomarker of aging and aging-related diseases, representing cells' 'biological age' rather than 'chronological age' ... LTL is also associated with cognition, and patients with Alzheimer's disease have shorter LTL. These same associations may be found among individuals with mild cognitive impairment"

Abstracts from this week:

Nicotinamide riboside, a form of vitamin B3, protects against excitotoxicity-induced axonal degeneration - FASEB J. 2017 Aug 21 - "NAD+ depletion is a common phenomenon in neurodegenerative pathologies ... Taken together, our findings demonstrate that NR is a better neuroprotective agent than NAD+ in excitotoxicity-induced AxD and that axonal protection involves defending intracellular NAD+ homeostasis"

Health Focus (Cortisol):