Recent Longevity News for the week ending 2/7/18

Vitamin D3 could help heal or prevent cardiovascular damage - Science Daily, 1/30/18 - "A major discovery from these studies is that vitamin D3 is a powerful stimulator of nitric oxide (NO), which is a major signaling molecule in the regulation of blood flow and the prevention of the formation of clots in the cardiovasculature. Additionally, vitamin D3 significantly reduced the level of oxidative stress in the cardiovascular system ... Most importantly, these studies show that treatment with vitamin D3 can significantly restore the damage to the cardiovascular system caused by several diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes, while also reducing the risk of heart attack ... "There are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular endothelial cells which are already damaged, and Vitamin D3 can do it," Malinski said. "This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system. We don't have to develop a new drug. We already have it."" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

HbA1c Levels in Diabetes Linked to Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 1/30/18 - "HbA1c has gained ground in the diagnosis and management of diabetes, showing greater reliability in predicting diabetes and indicating average circulating glucose levels over the prior 2 to 3 months ... each 1 mmol/mol increment in HbA1c was associated with an increased rate of decline in global cognitive z scores (–0.0009 SD/year), memory z scores (–0.0005 SD/year), and executive function z scores (–0.0008 SD/year). ... In terms of possible underlying mechanisms of the link between diabetes and cognitive decline, some evidence points to glycemic fluctuation as having a stronger effect on cognitive decline compared with sustained hyperglycemia, possibly through effects on endothelial function and induction of oxidative stress ... In addition, diabetes has been linked to subsequent cognitive impairment through direct mechanisms, such as inducing amyloid accumulation, and indirect mechanisms, including increasing microvascular disease of the central nervous system, thereby potentially playing a key role in vascular dementia, the authors note"

The Startling Link Between Sugar and Alzheimer's - The Atlantic, 1/26/18 - "A longitudinal study, published Thursday in the journal Diabetologia, followed 5,189 people over 10 years and found that people with high blood sugar had a faster rate of cognitive decline than those with normal blood sugar—whether or not their blood-sugar level technically made them diabetic. In other words, the higher the blood sugar, the faster the cognitive decline ... People who have type 2 diabetes are about twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s, and people who have diabetes and are treated with insulin are also more likely to get Alzheimer’s, suggesting elevated insulin plays a role in Alzheimer’s. In fact, many studies have found that elevated insulin, or “hyperinsulinemia,” significantly increases your risk of Alzheimer’s ... The group that ate the most carbs had an 80 percent higher chance of developing mild cognitive impairment—a pit stop on the way to dementia—than those who ate the smallest amount of carbs" -  See my Insulin and Aging page.

Choose Omega-3s from fish over flax for cancer prevention, study finds - Science Daily, 1/26/18 - "overall exposure to marine-based omega-3s reduced the size of the tumours by 60 to 70 per cent and the number of tumours by 30 per cent ... However, higher doses of the plant-based fatty acid were required to deliver the same impact as the marine-based omega-3s ... Omega-3s prevent and fight cancer by turning on genes associated with the immune system and blocking tumour growth pathways ... Besides certain foods containing EPA and DHA, supplements and functional foods, such as omega-3 eggs or DHA milk, can offer similar cancer prevention effects" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D supplements could ease painful IBS symptoms - Science Daily, 1/25/18 - "IBS -- a condition which affects two in 10 people in the UK ... The study showed a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in IBS patients -- regardless of their ethnicity ... IBS accounts for 10 per cent of visits to GP surgeries and the condition has a significant and escalating burden on society as a consequence of lost work days and time spent on regular hospital appointments " - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Gut Bacteria Less Diverse in PCOS; Could Probiotics Be a Therapy? - Medscape, 1/24/18 - "In terms of the gut microbiome, it is possible that decreased bacterial diversity results in changes in gut function that could exacerbate diseases including PCOS, though much work remains to be done to understand how changes in the gut microbiome influence host physiology" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

Curcumin improves memory and mood - Science Daily, 1/23/18 - "The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 40 adults between the ages of 50 and 90 years who had mild memory complaints. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or 90 milligrams of curcumin twice daily for 18 months ... The people who took curcumin experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities, while the subjects who received placebo did not, Small said. In memory tests, the people taking curcumin improved by 28 percent over the 18 months. Those taking curcumin also had mild improvements in mood, and their brain PET scans showed significantly less amyloid and tau signals in the amygdala and hypothalamus than those who took placebos" - [Nutra USA] [Abstract] - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Severe Gum Disease Increases Both Cancer Risk and Mortality - Medscape, 1/23/18 - "severe periodontitis was associated with a 24% increased risk for cancer, with the highest risks seen for lung cancer and colorectal cancer ... periodontitis was associated with a 33% increased risk for overall cancer mortality"

Cross-Sectional Association of Coffee and Caffeine Consumption With Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin in Healthy Nondiabetic Women - Medscape, 1/23/18 - "High coffee (≥3 cups/day) and caffeine (≥265 mg/day) intakes were associated with a reduced risk of being in the 1st quartile of the SHBG level distribution (<46.3 nmol/L) in a multivariate adjusted model (OR: 0.72 ... Consumption of high coffee and caffeine is associated with a reduced risk of low SHBG, an established risk marker for T2DM, which might contribute to the protective effects of coffee for type 2 diabetes"

Here Are the Secrets to a Long and Healthy Life - National Geographic, 4/12/15 but it just showed up on my Facebook.

Alcohol consumption in late teens can lead to liver problems in adulthood - Science Daily. 1/22/18 - "Data indicated that alcohol consumption early in life was associated with an increased risk of developing severe liver disease. After 39 years of follow-up, 383 men had developed severe liver disease, which was defined as a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease (hepatocellular carcinoma, ascites, esophageal varices, hepatorenal syndrome, or hepatic encephalopathy), liver failure, or death from liver disease. The risk was dose-dependent, with no sign of a threshold effect and was more pronounced in men consuming two drinks per day, about 20 grams, or more"

Abstracts from this week:

Improvement of penile neurogenic and endothelial relaxant responses by chronic administration of resveratrol in rabbits exposed to unpredictable chronic mild stress - Int J Impot Res. 2018 Jan 30 - "Our results indicated that chronic psychological stress could lead to ED by reducing neurogenic and endothelium-dependent relaxations and resveratrol prevents impairment of the functional responses, suggesting a potential new treatment approach for treatment of ED during psychological stress" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Effect of Curcumin on Anthropometric Measures: A Systematic Review on Randomized Clinical Trials - J Am Coll Nutr. 2018 Jan 9:1-8 - "It seems that the bioavailable form of curcumin can reduce obesity and overweight" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Protective Effects of Blueberry Anthocyanins against H2O2-Induced Oxidative Injury in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells - J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Feb 2 - "These combined results supported the hypothesis that blueberry anthocyanins could inhibit the induction and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through antioxidant mechanisms" - See blueberry extract at Amazon.com.

Antioxidant activity and apoptotic induction as mechanisms of action of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) against a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line - J Int Med Res. 2018 Jan 1 - "Ashwagandha could be a powerful antioxidant and a promising anticancer agent against HCC" - See ashwagandha at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Advance Glycation End Products):