Recent Longevity News for the two weeks ending 11/01/17

Less fat, more hair and younger skin: Study in mice shows benefits from calorie-restricted diet - Science Daily, 10/30/17 - "After six months, the body mass of the mice fed a caloric restriction (CR) diet was 40% lower than that of the mice fed an unrestricted diet. This change was not due to the mice losing weight; the mice fed a CR diet did not gain as much weight as the mice that could eat ad libitum. As the fat that helps keep the body warm diminished in CR mice, the adaptive response of their skin was to stimulate fur growth, and after six months, their fur was more uniform, thicker and longer ... Skin vascularization also changed. Compared with the obese group, the CR group had three times more blood vessels in their skin. This change increased blood flow to skin cells ... Conversely, signs of premature skin aging appeared in the overweight mice. "The change in vasoconstriction helped the slimmer mice stay warm, and their skin also remained young," ... CR mice lost muscle mass and became lethargic"

C.D.C. Panel Recommends a New Shingles Vaccine - NYT, 10/25/17 - "The decision was made just days after the Food and Drug Administration announced approval of the new vaccine, called Shingrix and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, for adults ages 50 and older ... The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also recommended that adults who have received the older vaccine get the new one"

A better way to wash pesticides off apples - Science Daily, 10/25/17 - "The researchers applied two common pesticides -- the fungicide thiabendazole, which past research has shown can penetrate apple peels, and the insecticide phosmet -- to organic Gala apples. They then washed these apples with three different liquids: tap water, a 1 percent baking soda/water solution, and a U.S.-EPA-approved commercial bleach solution often used on produce. The baking soda solution was the most effective at reducing pesticides. After 12 and 15 minutes, 80 percent of the thiabendazole was removed, and 96 percent of the phosmet was removed, respectively"

Gut Bacteria Profile Remains Stable With Healthy Aging - Medscape, 10/25/17 - "The main conclusion is that if you are ridiculously healthy and 90 years old, your gut microbiota is not that different from a healthy 30-year-old in the same population ... This demonstrates that maintaining diversity of your gut as you age is a biomarker of healthy aging, just like low-cholesterol is a biomarker of a healthy circulatory system ... Whether this is cause or effect is unknown, but it suggests that resetting an elderly microbiota to that of a 30-year-old might help promote health, if the microbiota is outside the norm" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

FDA Approves New Shingles Vaccine - WebMD, 10/24/17 - "the company's Shingrix vaccine prevented shingles in about 90 percent of people. Merck's Zostavax vaccine is about 50 percent effective"

Statin Use Raises Diabetes Risk 'Even in High-Risk Patients' - Medscape, 10/23/17 - "Over 10 years, statin use was linked to a 36% increased risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, falling to 27% after taking into account baseline risk factors and clinical criteria used to determine the need for statins ... As previously reported by Medscape Medical News, a study of more than 8700 Finnish men aged 45 to 73 years showed that over 6 years statins were linked to a 46% increased risk of type 2 diabetes — more than double prior estimates ... This was followed by recent data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, which indicated that, among almost 8400 women aged 76 to 82 years, the risk of new-onset diabetes ranged from 17% with the lowest statin doses to 51% with the highest doses"

Comparing the Effect of 0.06%, 0.12% and 0.2% Chlorhexidine on Plaque, Bleeding and Side Effects in an Experimental Gingivitis Model - Medscape, 10/23/17 - "Chlorhexidine is the gold standard of dental plaque prevention ... A commercially available mouthwash containing 0.2% chlorhexidine had statistically significant better effect in preventing dental plaque than the 0.12% and 0.06% solutions" - Note: Chlorhexidine requires a prescription and I don't think it's available in the 2%.  The 2% chlorhexidine is available on Amazon for external use for dogs.  I don't know if I'd put it in my mouth.

Abstracts from this week:

Silibinin Reduces the Impact of Obesity on Invasive Liver Cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2017 Oct 25:1-9 - "Obesity is associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Obesity and metabolic abnormalities resulting in low-grade inflammation can increase the risk of developing NASH and HCC. NASH, a risk factor for HCC, is characterized by increased inflammation, lipid accumulation, and liver injury ... Silibinin, a polyphenol in milk thistle seed, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties ... Silibinin suppressed obesity-induced growth, ROS, lipogenesis, MMP-9, and cell invasion" - See silymarin at Amazon.com.

Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Muscle Strength and Optimal Individual Post-Activation Potentiation Time of the Upper Body in Canoeists - Nutrients. 2017 Oct 27;9(11) - "Subjects were assigned to a creatine or placebo group, and later consumed 20 g of creatine or carboxymethyl cellulose per day for six days. After supplementation, the maximal strength in the creatine group significantly increased" - See creatine at Amazon.com.

Effect of Probiotics and Prebiotics on Immune Response to Influenza Vaccination in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - Nutrients. 2017 Oct 27;9(11) - "Participants who took probiotics or prebiotics showed significant improvements in the H1N1 strain seroprotection rate (with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.83 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.19-2.82, p = 0.006, I² = 0%), the H3N2 strain seroprotection rate (OR = 2.85, 95% CI = 1.59-5.10, p < 0.001, I² = 0%), and the B strain seroconversion rate (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.38-3.21, p < 0.001, I² = 0%). This meta-analysis suggested that probiotics and prebiotics are effective in elevating immunogenicity by influencing seroconversion and seroprotection rates in adults inoculated with influenza vaccines" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

A Single Dose Of Oral Atp Supplementation Improves Performance And Physiological Response During Lower Body Resistance Exercise In Recreational Resistance Trained Males - J Strength Cond Res. 2017 Oct 16 - "ATP supplement condition (ATP=400mg) or a placebo condition ... The total weight lifted were higher for the ATP condition compared to placebo (Placebo= 3995.7+/-1137.8, ATP= 4967.4+/-1497.9 Kg; p= 0.005)" - [Nutra USA] - See ATP supplements at Amazon.com.

Flavanol-rich cocoa consumption enhances exercise-induced executive function improvements in humans - J Nutr. 2017 Oct 1 - "Aerobic exercise is known to acutely improve cognitive functions, such as executive function (EF) and memory function (MF). Additionally, consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa is reported to acutely improve cognitive function. Thus, we hypothesized that high cocoa flavanol (CF; HCF) consumption would enhance exercise-induced improvement in cognitive function ... The present findings demonstrated that HCF consumption prior to moderate-intensity exercise could enhance exercise-induced improvement in EF, but not in MF. Therefore, we suggest that the combination of HCF consumption and aerobic exercise may be beneficial for improving EF" - [Nutra USA] - See Ghirardelli Chocolate Intense Dark Squares, Midnight Reverie, 4.12 oz., 86% Cacao (Pack of 4) at Amazon.com.

Cranberry Reduces the Risk of Urinary Tract Infection Recurrence in Otherwise Healthy Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - J Nutr. 2017 Oct 1 - "Results of the meta-analysis showed that cranberry reduced the risk of UTI by 26%" - See cranberry extract at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Samsung’s huge 49-inch gaming monitor is an ultrawide dream - Engadget, 10/5/17 - "let's call it "super ultrawide" -- which can do the work of complex three-monitor setups ... At $1,499, Samsung's 49-inch gaming monitor is surprisingly competitive with ultrawide monitors. Dell's highest-resolution 34-inch Alienware screen is available for the same price, while LG's latest model sells for just $1,000" - See Samsung 49 inch ultra wide at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Omega-3):