Recent Longevity News for the week ending 9/19/18

Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy life span in older people - Science Daily, 9/16/18 - "In the total study population, treatment with 100 mg of low-dose aspirin per day did not affect survival free of dementia or disability. Among the people randomly assigned to take aspirin, 90.3 percent remained alive at the end of the treatment without persistent physical disability or dementia, compared with 90.5 percent of those taking a placebo. Rates of physical disability were similar, and rates of dementia were almost identical in both groups ... The group taking aspirin had an increased risk of death compared to the placebo group: 5.9 percent of participants taking aspirin and 5.2 percent taking placebo died during the study. This effect of aspirin has not been noted in previous studies; and caution is needed in interpreting this finding. The higher death rate in the aspirin-treated group was due primarily to a higher rate of cancer deaths. A small increase in new cancer cases was reported in the group taking aspirin but the difference could have been due to chance."

Association Between Proton Pump Inhibitors and the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma - Medscape, 9/13/18 - "The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for HCC associated with PPI use was 2.86"

What Foods Should I Avoid to Prevent Kidney Stones? - NYT, 9/14/18 - "More than 90 percent of stones contain calcium, usually in the form of calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate or hydroxyapatite. Less often, stones are formed of uric acid or other chemicals. Different types of stones can also occur in the same person ... Since most stones contain calcium, doctors historically advised patients to limit the amount of calcium in their diets. It was a logical recommendation, but it was wrong ... In the early 1990s, a group of Harvard doctors followed for four years more than 45,000 men who had never had a kidney stone and came to a surprising conclusion: Diets that are high in calcium actually decrease the risk of kidney stones"

Probiotic use may reduce antibiotic prescriptions - Science Daily, 9/14/18 - "when the results from twelve studies were pooled together, infants and children were 29% percent less likely to have been prescribed antibiotics if they received probiotics as a daily health supplement. When the analysis was repeated with only the highest quality studies, this percentage increased to 53%" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

Dietary fiber reduces brain inflammation during aging - Science Daily, 9/14/18 - "Dietary fiber promotes the growth of good bacteria in the gut. When these bacteria digest fiber, they produce short-chain-fatty-acids (SCFAs), including butyrate, as byproducts ... Butyrate is of interest because it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties on microglia and improve memory in mice when administered pharmacologically"

Anti-inflammatory diet linked to reduced risk of early death - Science Daily, 9/13/18 - "In the study of 68,273 Swedish men and women aged 45 to 83 years who were followed for 16 years, participants who most closely followed an anti-inflammatory diet had an 18% lower risk of all-cause mortality, a 20% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality, and a 13% lower risk of cancer mortality, when compared with those who followed the diet to a lesser degree ... Anti-inflammatory foods consist of fruits and vegetables, tea, coffee, whole grain bread, breakfast cereal, low-fat cheese, olive oil and canola oil, nuts, chocolate, and moderate amounts of red wine and beer. Pro-inflammatory foods include unprocessed and processed red meat, organ meats, chips, and soft-drink beverages."

BPA replacements in plastics cause reproductive problems in lab mice - Science Daily, 9/13/18 - "Twenty years ago, researchers made the accidental discovery that the now infamous plastics ingredient known as bisphenol A or BPA had inadvertently leached out of plastic cages used to house female mice in the lab, causing a sudden increase in chromosomally abnormal eggs in the animals. Now, the same team is back to report in the journal Current Biology on September 13 that the array of alternative bisphenols now used to replace BPA in BPA-free bottles, cups, cages, and other items appear to come with similar problems for their mice ... Hunt's advice to consumers now is simple: BPA-free or not, "plastic products that show physical signs of damage or aging cannot be considered safe.""

• Why 'BPA Free' May Not Mean a Plastic Product Is Safe - National Geographic, 9/13/18

Caffeine consumption may extend life expectancy for people with kidney disease - Science Daily, 9/12/18 - "Comparing with people that consumed less caffeine, patients that consumed higher levels of caffeine presented a nearly 25% reduction in the risk of death over a median follow-up of 60 months"

They’re more than relaxing. Research shows saunas can be good for your health - Washington Post, 9/9/18 - "The Mayo Clinic Proceedings recently published a paper titled “Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence.” The researchers conclude: “Emerging evidence suggests that sauna bathing may be linked to several health benefits, which include reduction in the risk of vascular diseases such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and neurocognitive diseases; nonvascular conditions such as pulmonary diseases; mortality; and amelioration of conditions such as arthritis, headache, and flu.” ... The studies typically included subjects who spent five to 20 minutes in a sauna heated to 175 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit, followed by a swim, shower or return to room temperature. Sauna exposure raised subjects’ heart rates to 120 beats to 150 beats per minute and increased blood flow to the skin, much as moderate exercise does" - Note:  You're lucky to get 125 degrees out of most of the home saunas that you buy in America.

Whole grains one of the most important food groups for preventing type 2 diabetes - Science Daily, 9/5/18 - "The participants were divided into 4 different groups, based on how much wholegrain they reported eating ... The proportion who developed type 2 diabetes was lowest in the group which reported the highest wholegrain consumption, and increased for each group which had eaten less wholegrain. In the group with the highest wholegrain intake, the diabetes risk was 34 percent lower for men, and 22 percent lower for women, than in the group with the lowest wholegrain intake"

Fish Oil Pills In Pregnancy May Mean Stronger Kids - WebMD, 9/5/18 - "The body composition at age 6 years in children given fish oil supplementation was characterized by a proportional increase in lean, bone and fat mass, suggesting a general growth-stimulating effect" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

Melatonin Upregulates Nuclear Factor Erythroid-2 Related Factor 2 (Nrf2) and Mediates Mitophagy to Protect Against Early Brain Injury After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - Med Sci Monit. 2018 Sep 13 - "Our study indicated that, by increasing the expression of NRF2, the mitophagy induced by melatonin provided protection against brain injury post-SAH" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Taurine: A Regulator of Cellular Redox-Homeostasis and Skeletal Muscle Function - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018 Sep 13 - "Taurine affects mitochondrial bioenergetics and taurine deficient mice exhibit an impaired exercise performance. Moreover, some studies demonstrate that taurine enhances the glycogen repletion in the post-exercise recovery phase. In the case of taurine deficiency, many studies observed a phenotype known in muscle senescence and skeletal muscle disorders. Overall, taurine plays an important role in cellular redox homeostasis and skeletal muscle function" - See taurine at Amazon.com.

Crucifers and related vegetables and supplements for neurologic disorders: what is the evidence? - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2018 Sep 7 - "Much new evidence suggests that neurological disorders are among the potential targets for this approach. This evidence includes at least nine clinical studies of neurodevelopmental conditions like autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, and there are a great many studies in animal model systems, of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases ... There is great promise for the regular use of cruciferous vegetables or supplements containing standardized levels of bioactives in the treatment and prevention of neurologic disorders" - See cruciferous vegetables supplements at Amazon.com.

Novel Facial Cream Containing Carnosine Inhibits Formation of Advanced Glycation End-Products in Human Skin - Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2018 Sep 10 - "Topically applied carnosine protects against the glycation induced by MG. Novel FC-CARN significantly reduced levels of AGEs in both epidermis and reticular dermis in human skin explants" -  Note:  I'm sticking with the oral form.  See carnosine products at Amazon.com.

Ideal Blood Pressure in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Sep 11 - "BP of 120 to 129/<80 mm Hg was the optimal BP treatment target for patients with AF undergoing hypertension treatment"

Role of Host GPR120 in Mediating Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Inhibition of Prostate Cancer - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2018 Sep 6 - "GPR120, a G protein-coupled receptor for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs), mediates the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 (ω-3) FAs ... Host GPR120 plays a central role in the anti-prostate cancer effects of dietary ω-3 FAs" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Inhibitory Effect of Astaxanthin on Oxidative Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction-A Mini-Review - Nutrients. 2018 Aug 21;10(9) - "Oxidative stress is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of various human diseases as well as to the aging process. Mitochondria, as the center of cellular metabolism and major regulators of redox balance, play a critical role in disease development and progression. Mitochondrial dysfunction involving structural and metabolic impairment is prominent in oxidative stress-related diseases. Increased oxidative stress can damage mitochondria, and subsequent mitochondrial dysfunction generates excesses of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species that cause cellular damage. Mitochondrial dysfunction also activates the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, resulting in cellular death. Astaxanthin, a red-colored xanthophyll carotenoid, exerts an anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effect on various cell lines. In this manner astaxanthin maintains mitochondrial integrity under various pathological conditions" - [Nutra USA] - See astaxanthin at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

I got fed up with having to put on my jeans every time I was in bed and wanted to raid the kitchen refrigerator so I bought a pair of each of these.  I'm convinced that the $27 Nautica are made by the same manufacturer as the $13 Amazon Essentials.  They just put on different labels but the Nautica have better colors/patterns.  The material for the Jockey brand is too girly like:

Health Focus (Quercetin):