Recent Longevity News for the week ending 10/31/18

Please subscribe to my unabbreviated newsletter because studies with the 't' word violate advertisement policy with some.  I only run across studies like that about once every four months and I don't sell it but it bothers me to be censored.

Late night snacker? Make it cottage cheese - Science Daily, 10/15/18 - "consuming 30 grams of protein about 30 minutes before bed appears to have a positive effect on muscle quality, metabolism and overall health. And for those who have sworn off eating at night, there is no gain in body fat"

Lavender's Antianxiety Effects Nothing to Sniff At - Medscape, 10/25/18 - "the vaporized lavender compound linalool triggers a relaxing effect by directly stimulating olfactory sensory neurons ... The researchers say it is notable that the animals' movements did not become impaired after the animals smelled linalool. By contrast, benzodiazepines and linalool injections had effects on movement that were similar to those caused by alcohol ... these results suggest that linalool does not act directly on GABAA receptors like benzodiazepines do but must activate them via olfactory neurons in the nose in order to produce its relaxing effects ... the anxiolytic effects induced by the odor of linalool "may be applicable for preoperative patients because pretreatment with anxiolytics can alleviate preoperative stress and thus contribute to place patients under general anesthesia more smoothly" - See lavender oil at Amazon.com.

The Love-Hate Relationship With Levothyroxine - Medscape, 10/25/18 - "Some might have a preference for animal-derived, nonsynthetic, natural forms of treatment, such as desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) from bovine and porcine sources, which contain both T3 and T4 at an approximate physiologic ratio of 1:4 ... I discuss with these patients that the physiologic ratio of T3:T4 secretion by the thyroid gland in humans is approximately 1:14.[4] In contrast, the makeup of DTE is approximately 1:4; thus, there is a relatively higher proportion of T3 than T4 in animal-derived sources of thyroid hormone ... Given the potential risks for cardiac arrhythmias and worsened bone health associated with perhaps any T3 therapy, I offer two separate prescriptions for synthetic T3 and T4 as the initial step to hypothyroid individuals who strongly prefer trying T3. To best replicate the physiologic ratio of T3:T4 production, the separate prescriptions should be about 1:13-1:20 that of T3 to T4 ... T3 also has a much shorter half-life than T4; thus, twice-daily dosing may be best. For example, an individual who has been taking 112 µg of synthetic T4 once daily and wants to try incorporating T3 would be prescribed 5 µg of synthetic T3 twice daily combined with 100 µg of synthetic T4 to reach a total of 110 µg of thyroid hormone per day, which is as close to the previous weight-based dose as possible"

Cannabis pain relief without the 'high' - Science Daily, 10/25/18 - "Researchers were able to extrapolate the exact dosage of CBD displaying analgesic and antianxiety properties without the risk of addiction and euphoria classically produced by the THC"

Every U.S. Public Library and YMCA Will Soon Get Narcan for Free - Time, 10/24/18 - "Emergent BioSolutions, which this month completed its acquisition of Narcan maker Adapt Pharma, will provide a free kit including two doses of the nasal spray, as well as educational materials, to each of the 16,568 public libraries and 2,700 YMCAs in the U.S., according to an announcement released Wednesday. The initiative builds on the Narcan in Schools program, through which the company offers four free doses of Narcan to each U.S. high school, and up to eight doses to degree-granting two- or four-year institutions"

Muscle mass should be a new vital sign, research shows - AAAS, 10/18/18 - "Adults go to the doctor roughly three times a year. During their visit, vitals are taken such as blood pressure, pulse, and weight, but are these measurements really showing the full picture of a person's overall health? Extensive research shows health care professionals should be considering something often overlooked -- muscle mass. ... people with less muscle had more surgical and post-operative complications, longer hospital stays, lower physical function, poorer quality of life and overall lower survival"

Stroke Rates Higher Among Pot Users - WebMD, 10/19/18 - "The risk for any stroke could increase by 15 percent and it could jump 29 percent for an ischemic stroke -- the most common kind ... Over five years, the rate of all types of stroke increased from 1.3 to 1.5 percent among marijuana users, and the rate of ischemic stroke rose from 0.7 to 0.9 percent, the researchers found ... The increase in strokes among marijuana users was across all age groups -- for people in their teens to those in their 80s, Patel said. In addition, costs to care for these patients rose between 2010 and 2014, from $71,000 to $92,000"

Link found between chronic inflammation and risk for Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 10/18/18 - "ApoE4 linked with chronic inflammation dramatically increases the risk for AD. This can be detected by sequential measurements of C-reactive protein, a common clinical test which can be could be done routinely in a clinical setting ... Since many elders have chronic low-grade inflammation after suffering from common diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pneumonia and urinary tract infection, or after having surgeries, rigorously treating chronic systemic inflammation in ApoE4 carriers could be effective for prevention of Alzheimer's dementia" - See my inflammation page and C-reactive protein page for ways to reduce it.

The 5 Most Germ-Filled Places In Your Office—And How to Protect Yourself - Time, 10/19/18 - "Elevator buttons and escalator railings ... Office door ... Keyboard ... Conference room phone ... Break room coffee cups"

Omega-3s in Fish Oils Tied to Healthy Aging - NYT, 10/17/18 - "compared with people in the lowest one-fifth for omega-3 levels, those in the highest one-fifth had an 18 percent lower risk of unhealthy aging"

Nutrition has a greater impact on bone strength than exercise - Science Daily, 10/17/18 - "nutrition has a greater impact on bone mass and strength than exercise. Further, even after the exercise training stopped, the mice retained bone strength gains as long as they ate a mineral-supplemented diet"

Diets rich in fish oil could slow the spread and growth of breast cancer cells - Science Daily, 10/16/18 - "Khadge and her colleagues found the chance that the breast cancer cells would take hold in the breast glands of the adult female mice was significantly lower in those on the omega 3-diet. Tumors took significantly longer to start developing in these mice, and this had an influence on their size. After 35 days, the tumors detected in their breasts were 50 per cent smaller than those that developed in the omega 6-group. The likelihood of the cancerous cells growing and spreading to other organs in the omega-3 group was also lower and these mice survived longer than those on the omega-6 diet. Indeed some of the omega-3 fed mice appeared to never develop breast cancer ... More T-cells were found in the tissue of the mice in the omega-3 group than in the omega-6 group, and these correlated with dying tumor cells. This is important because T-cells are white blood cells that play a role in strengthening the immune system against tumors. The mice fed an omega-3 diet also had less inflammation. According to Khadge this could mean that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids helps to suppress the type of inflammation that can trigger the rapid development and spread of tumors as well as promote T-cell responses to tumors." - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Omega-3 Supplements May Ease Anxiety - NYT, 10/11/18 - "The analysis, in JAMA Network Open, concluded that people with clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders who took large doses of the supplement — up to 2,000 milligrams a day — benefited most." - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

Effects of pomegranate supplementation on exercise performance and post-exercise recovery in healthy adults: a systematic review - Br J Nutr. 2018 Oct 23:1-16 - "pomegranate (POM) supplementation ... The review indicates that POM has the potential to enhance exercise performance and to expedite recovery from intensive exercise" - See pomegranate extract at Amazon.com.

Effect of monosodium L-glutamate (umami substance) on cognitive function in people with dementia - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2018 Oct 22 - "This study assessed the effect of continuous ingestion of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) on cognitive function and dietary score in dementia patients ... We performed physical examination, cognitive symptom tests (the Touch Panel-type Dementia Assessment Scale (TDAS) and Gottfries-Bråne-Steen Scale (GBSS)), palatability and behaviour questionnaires, and blood tests before and after the intervention and after the follow-up period ... There were no significant differences in the TDAS and GBSS total scores between the groups before and after the intervention. However, regarding the TDAS sub-items, "the accuracy of the order of a process" did not deteriorate in the MSG group compared with that observed in the Control group (p < 0.05). At the follow-up assessment, the TDAS total scores in the MSG group showed significant improvement compared with those reported in the Control group" - See Aji No Moto Ajinomoto Monosodium Glutamate Umami Seasoning 454g / 1LB / 16oz HALAL at Amazon.com.

• MSG Isn't Toxic - Five minute video
• Is MSG really all that bad for you? - CNET, 8/25/14 - It's a 3 minute video.
• Why Americans still avoid MSG, even though its ‘health effects’ have been debunked - Washington Post, 3/20/18 - "Unfortunately, when it comes to MSG, there’s a great deal of evidence that consumer fears have been misplaced ... A chemical variant of glutamate -- a substance that occurs naturally in high-umami foods, such as Parmesan cheese, walnuts, soy sauce and tomatoes -- monosodium glutamate has been widely eaten since the early 20th century, when a Japanese scientist first distilled it from seaweed ... As MSG’s defenders have noted, this statistic should help show that the flavoring does not provoke the myriad symptoms that have been attributed to it. Few people claim to suffer what Kwok dubbed “Chinese restaurant syndrome” when they pop open a bag of chips ... On top of that, numerous high-quality studies of MSG have failed to demonstrate significant symptoms, even in people who claim to suffer from MSG reactions. In the 1990s, the FDA commissioned an independent review that found MSG only caused adverse effects in a small minority of “sensitive individuals” who ate large amounts on an empty stomach ... Instead, historians and researchers have blamed the initial symptoms that Kwok and others attributed to MSG on a variety of other sources: excess sodium or alcohol consumed with restaurant meals, a version of the placebo effect, growing skepticism of corporations, and deep-seated, anti-Asian prejudice"

Combined extracts of Garcinia mangostana fruit rind and Cinnamomum tamala leaf supplementation enhances muscle strength and endurance in resistance trained males - J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Oct 22;15(1):50 - "A proprietary composition GMCT contains extracts of two popular Asian herbs viz., Garcinia mangostana (GM) fruit rind and Cinnamomum tamala (CT) leaf. We systematically evaluated physical performance and muscle strength enhancing ability of GMCT in a preclinical mouse model followed by a 42-days double-blind placebo controlled human trial in resistance trained adult males ... GMCT supplementation is effective in increasing muscle strength, muscle size and, total lean mass, as well as endurance performance" - See Garcinia mangostana at Amazon.com and Cinnamomum tamala leaf at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D is a potential antidepressant in psychiatric outpatients - Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2018 Oct 19 - "Vitamin D deficiency and MSP were very common among Jordanian psychiatric outpatients independent of diagnostic categories. Vitamin D supplementation plus increased dairy-product intake had a significant positive impact on physical and mental health status in psychiatric outpatients. Screening for vitamin D deficiency and daily calcium intake could be routine for psychiatric evaluation" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Hesperidin Prevents Nitric Oxide Deficiency-Induced Cardiovascular Remodeling in Rats via Suppressing TGF-β1 and MMPs Protein Expression - Nutrients. 2018 Oct 19;10(10) - "n-nitro l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) ... Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with l-NAME (40 mg/kg), l-NAME plus hesperidin (15 mg/kg), hesperidin (30 mg/kg), or captopril (2.5 mg/kg) for five weeks (n = 8/group). Hesperidin or captopril significantly prevented the development of hypertension in l-NAME rats. l-NAME-induced cardiac remodeling, i.e., increases in wall thickness, cross-sectional area (CSA), and fibrosis in the left ventricular and vascular remodeling, i.e., increases in wall thickness, CSA, vascular smooth muscle cells, and collagen deposition in the aorta were attenuated by hesperidin or captopril. These were associated with reduced oxidative stress markers, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), and enhancing plasma nitric oxide metabolite (NOx) in l-NAME treated groups. Furthermore, up-regulation of tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (TNF-R1) and TGF- β1 protein expression and the overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was suppressed in l-NAME rats treated with hesperidin or captopril. These data suggested that hesperidin had cardioprotective effects in l-NAME hypertensive rats" - See hesperidin at Amazon.com.

Free testosterone correlated with erectile dysfunction severity among young men with normal total testosterone - Int J Impot Res. 2018 Oct 22 - "Decreased levels of FT were associated with lower IIEF-5 scores(β = 0.176, P = 0.048) and EHGS (β = 0.198, P = 0.026) after adjustment for age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, comorbidities, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), uric acid, fructosamine, and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) ... Low FT level, even in the presence of normal TT, is associated with ED severity in young men. FT levels should be screened in ED patient even with normal total testosterone"

Efficacy and safety of Eurycoma longifolia (Physta®) water extract plus multivitamins on quality of life, mood and stress: a randomized placebo-controlled and parallel study - Food and Nutri, 10/18 - "While there were no significant between-group differences, within-group improvements were observed in the SF-12 QoL, POMS and MMSQ domains. In the SF-12 domain, improvements were seen in role limitation due to emotional health (P = 0.05), mental component domain (P < 0.001), emotional well-being (P < 0.001), social functioning (P = 0.002) as well as vitality (P = 0.001) at week 12. An increasing trend in POMS-vigour domain was also observed in the EL+MV group at week 12. A 15% decrease in physical stress domain (P < 0.05) compared with 0.7% in the placebo group was also observed in MMSQ" - [Nutra USA] - See Physta at Amazon.com.

Effect of Mixed Meal and Leucine Intake on Plasma Amino Acid Concentrations in Young Men - Nutrients 2018, 10(10), 1543 - "10 healthy young men (age 25 ± 1 years, height 1.73 ± 0.02 m, weight 65.8 ± 1.5 kg) underwent tests under different conditions—intake of 2 g of leucine (LEU), intake of a mixed meal (protein 27.5 g, including 2.15 g of leucine, protein: fat: carbohydrate ratio—22:25:53) only (MEAL), intake of 2 g of leucine immediately after a mixed meal (MEAL-LEU) and intake of 2 g of leucine 180 min after a mixed meal (MEAL-LEU180). Blood samples were collected within 420 min (240 min for LEU only) after intake and changes in amino acid concentrations were evaluated. Although the maximum plasma leucine concentration increased to 442 ± 24 µM for LEU, it was lower at 347 ± 16 µM (p < 0.05 vs. LEU) for MEAL-LEU, 205 ± 8 µM (p < 0.05 vs. LEU) for MEAL. The maximum plasma leucine concentration for MEAL-LEU180 increased to 481 ± 27 µM and compared to LEU there was no significant difference (p > 0.1). The observation that rapid elevations in plasma leucine concentrations are suppressed when leucine is ingested at the same time as a meal suggests that the timing of its intake must be considered to maximize the anabolic response" - [Nutra USA] - See leucine products at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

After seeing Amazon’s pajama bottoms were exactly the same as brand name’s Nautica but less than have the price, I started thinking about Amazon shirts for $39: https://amzn.to/2C922IT compared to Brooks for $92: https://www.brooksbrothers.com/Regent-Fitted-Dress-Shirt,-Non-Iron-Spread-Collar/ME02671,default,pd.html .  Both are 100% Supima® cotton. There's a lot of overhead at those Brooks Brothers stores and their mail order can't undercut the stores.  The ratings and even the same.  See all Amazon 'Buttoned Down' brand tailored fit shirts.  Here's what I bought:

Health Focus (Sytrinol):