Recent Longevity News for the week ending 10/4/17

Frequent sauna bathing keeps blood pressure in check - Science Daily, 9/29/17 - "The same researchers have previously shown that frequent sauna bathing reduces the risk of sudden cardiac death, and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality ... The risk of hypertension was 24% decreased among men with a sauna frequency of 2-3 times a week, and 46% lowered among men who had a sauna 4-7 times a week .. Sauna bathing may decrease systemic blood pressure through different biological mechanisms. During sauna bathing, the body temperature may rise up to 2 °C degrees, causing vessels vasodilation. Regular sauna bathing improves endothelial function, i.e. the function of the inside layer of blood vessels, which has beneficial effects on systemic blood pressure. Sweating, in turn, removes fluid from the body, which is a contributing factor to decreased blood pressure levels. Additionally, sauna bathing may also lower systemic blood pressure due to overall relaxation of the body and mind" - See saunas at Amazon.com.

• Frequent sauna bathing protects men against dementia - Science Daily, 12/16/16 - "the study participants were divided into three groups: those taking a sauna once a week, those taking a sauna 2-3 times a week, and those taking a sauna 4-7 times a week ... The more frequently saunas were taken, the lower was the risk of dementia. Among those taking a sauna 4-7 times a week, the risk of any form of dementia was 66% lower and the risk of Alzheimer's disease 65% lower than among those taking a sauna just once a week ... Previous results from the KIHD study have shown that frequent sauna bathing also significantly reduces the risk of sudden cardiac death, the risk of death due to coronary artery disease and other cardiac events, as well as overall mortality" - See JNH Lifestyle saunas at Amazon.com.

Skipping breakfast associated with hardening of the arteries - Science Daily, 10/2/17 - "Three groups were identified -- those consuming less than five percent of their total energy intake in the morning (skipped breakfast and only had coffee, juice or other non-alcoholic beverages); those consuming more than 20 percent of their total energy intake in the morning (breakfast consumers); and those consuming between five and 20 percent (low-energy breakfast consumers). Of the 4,052 participants, 2.9 percent skipped breakfast, 69.4 percent were low-energy breakfast consumers and 27.7 percent were breakfast consumers ... Participants who skipped breakfast had the greatest waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, blood lipids and fasting glucose levels ... Participants who skipped breakfast were more likely to have an overall unhealthy lifestyle, including poor overall diet, frequent alcohol consumption and smoking. They were also more likely to be hypertensive and overweight or obese. In the case of obesity, the study authors said reverse causation cannot be ruled out, and the observed results may be explained by obese patients skipping breakfast to lose weight"

Low consumption of vitamin K by adolescents associated with unhealthy enlargement of the heart's major pumping chamber - Science Daily, 10/2/17 - "A study of 766 otherwise healthy adolescents showed that those who consumed the least vitamin K1 -- found in spinach, cabbage, iceberg lettuce and olive oil -- were at 3.3 times greater risk for an unhealthy enlargement of the major pumping chamber of their heart ... In the 14-18 year olds who consumed the least vitamin K1, the study found the overall size and wall thickness of the left ventricle were already significantly greater and the amount of blood the heart pumped out significantly lower ... Only 25 percent of the teens in the study met current adequate intake levels" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.

How 'love hormone' spurs sociability - Science Daily, 9/28/17 - "How does this increased dopamine release during social interaction come about? ... It turns out that another chemical -- oxytocin -- is pulling the strings ... oxytocin secreted in the ventral tegmental area by neurons originating in the paraventricular nucleus fosters sociability by binding to receptors on the dopamine-secreting neurons that compose the tract running from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens, enhancing the firing of the reward-circuit tract ... With so much hatred and anger in the world ... what could possibly be more important than understanding the mechanisms in the brain that make us want to be friendly with other people?" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems.

Zinc can halt the growth of cancer cells, study says - Science Daily, 9/28/17 - "Esophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of human cancer deaths around the world ... The average five-year survival rate is less than 20 percent ... Zinc deficiency has been found in many cancer patients ... the absence of zinc makes it impossible for cells to function ... zinc impedes overactive calcium signals in cancer cells, which is absent in normal cells, and thus zinc selectively inhibits cancer cell growth" - See zinc supplements at Amazon.com.

IRIS: New Analysis Finds Best Candidates for Pioglitazone After Stroke - Medscape, 9/26/17 - "in patients with recent ischemic stroke or TIA and insulin resistance, pioglitazone reduced recurrent stroke or MI by about one fourth compared with placebo"

Abstracts from this week:

Metformin vs sulfonylurea use and risk of dementia in US veterans aged ≥65 years with diabetes - Neurology. 2017 Sep 27 - "Crude hazard ratio [HR] for any dementia in metformin vs sulfonylurea users was 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61-0.73) and 0.78 (95% CI 0.72-0.83) for those <75 years of age and ≥75 years of age, respectively ... After accounting for confounding by indication, metformin was associated with a lower risk of subsequent dementia than sulfonylurea use in veterans <75 years of age" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Effect of Raw Crushed Garlic (Allium sativum L.) on Components of Metabolic Syndrome - J Diet Suppl. 2017 Sep 28:1-8 - "Raw crushed garlic significantly reduced components of metabolic syndrome including waist circumference (p < .05), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p < .001), triglycerides (p < .01), fasting blood glucose (p < .0001) and significantly increased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol"

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Roku Streaming Stick Plus with 4K for $70 leads five-player team - CNET, 10/2/17 - "Roku's streaming sticks and boxes are more popular than their competitors, however, and they routinely earn my top recommendations" - See Roku products at Amazon.com.

I keep finding better options for alkaline water.  I think I'll go with this next time because I don't really need the carbon filter after my reverse osmosis system.  The second one might be a cheap way to go if you think a 0.5 increase in pH is enough:

Health Focus (Chromium):