Recent Longevity News for the week ending 11/25/20

Even 'Safe' Levels of Air Pollution Tied to Brain Shrinkage - Medscape, 11/23/20 - "AD pattern similarity (AD-PS) scores ... Longitudinal analysis of participants who completed the full 5-year study (n = 712; aged 77.4 ± 3.5 years) showed that each interquartile range increase in PM2.5 (2.82 μg/m3) was associated with a 24% increase in AD-PS score (hazard ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.14 – 1.34) at the end of the 5 years."

Metformin Improves Most Outcomes for T2D During Pregnancy - Medscape, 11/20/20 - "there was no significant difference between the treatment groups in terms of the proportion of women with the composite primary outcome of pregnancy loss, preterm birth, birth injury, respiratory distress, neonatal hypoglycemia, or admission to neonatal intensive care lasting more than 24 hours (P = 0.86) ... However, women in the metformin group had significantly less overall weight gain during pregnancy than those in the placebo group, at –1.8 kg (P < .0001) ... They also had a significantly lower last A1c level in pregnancy, at 41 mmol/mol (5.9%) versus 43.2 mmol/mol (6.1%) in those given placebo (P = .015), and required fewer insulin doses, at 1.1 versus 1.5 units/kg/day (P < .0001), which translated to a reduction of almost 44 units/day ... Women given metformin were also less likely to require Cesarean section delivery, at 53.4% versus 62.7% in the placebo group (P = .03), although there was no difference between groups in terms of gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia." - See metformin at ReliableRX.

SCORED and FIDELIO-DKD: Time for Cardiologists to Help, Not Hurt, the Kidney - Medscape, 11/20/20 - 20 minute video on empagliflozin (Jardiance).  I doubt if most cardiologists are even aware of this yet. - "In terms of heart failure with reduced EF, these are really well-tolerated medicines. I've been using dapagliflozin and empagliflozin in my patients and found them to have good clinical outcomes and to be clinically well tolerated, with minimal side effects"

• Diabetes drug can treat and reverse heart failure and reduce hospitalizations - Science Daily, 11/16/20 - "Empagliflozin, a recently developed diabetes drug ... this medication can improve the heart's size, shape, and function, leading to better exercise capacity and quality of life, which will reduce hospitalizations for heart failure patients" - Note:  It's a $500/month medication.
• EMPEROR-Reduced: Empagliflozin's HFrEF Benefit Holds Steady on Top of Sacubitril/Valsartan - Medscape, 10/7/20 - "When there are two very effective treatments, it's common for people to ask: Which should I use?' The goal of my presentation was to emphasize that the answer is both. We shouldn't choose between neprilysin inhibition [sacubitril inhibits the enzyme neprilysin] and SGLT2 [sodium-glucose transporter 2] inhibition; we should use both"
• Randomized Trial of Empagliflozin in Non-Diabetic Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction - J Am Coll Cardiol 2020 Nov 9 - "Empagliflozin administration to non-diabetic HFrEF patients significantly improves LV volumes, LV mass, LV systolic function, functional capacity, and quality of life when compared with placebo. Our observations strongly support a role for SGLT2 inhibitors in the treatment of HFrEF patients independently of their glycemic status"

COVID-19 Reinfection Unlikely for at Least 6 Months, Study Finds - Medscape, 11/20/20 - "People who've had COVID-19 are highly unlikely to contract it again for at least six months after their first infection"

Bed dust microorganisms may boost children's health, study suggests - Science Daily, 11/19/20 - "The correlation suggests that microorganisms may reduce a child's risk of developing asthma, allergies and autoimmune diseases later on in life. Invisible to the human eye, our beds are teeming with microbial life. It is life that, especially during early childhood, can affect how microorganisms in our bodies develop, and thereby how resilient we become to various diseases."

The End of the Pandemic Is Now in Sight - Atlantic, 11/18/20 - "mRNA vaccines offer a clever shortcut. We humans don’t need to intellectually work out how to make viruses; our bodies are already very, very good at incubating them. When the coronavirus infects us, it hijacks our cellular machinery, turning our cells into miniature factories that churn out infectious viruses. The mRNA vaccine makes this vulnerability into a strength. What if we can trick our own cells into making just one individually harmless, though very recognizable, viral protein? The coronavirus’s spike protein fits this description, and the instructions for making it can be encoded into genetic material called mRNA ... Both vaccines, from Moderna and from Pfizer’s collaboration with the smaller German company BioNTech, package slightly modified spike-protein mRNA inside a tiny protective bubble of fat. Human cells take up this bubble and simply follow the directions to make spike protein. The cells then display these spike proteins, presenting them as strange baubles to the immune system. Recognizing these viral proteins as foreign, the immune system begins building an arsenal to prepare for the moment a virus bearing this spike protein appears."

Link between Alzheimer's disease and gut microbiota is confirmed - Science Daily, 11/16/20 - "A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) in Switzerland, together with Italian colleagues from the National Research and Care Center for Alzheimer's and Psychiatric Diseases Fatebenefratelli in Brescia, University of Naples and the IRCCS SDN Research Center in Naples, confirm the correlation, in humans, between an imbalance in the gut microbiota and the development of amyloid plaques in the brain, which are at the origin of the neurodegenerative disorders characteristic of Alzheimer's disease ... This discovery paves the way for potentially highly innovative protective strategies -- through the administration of a bacterial cocktail, for example, or of pre-biotics to feed the "good" bacteria in our intestine" - See prebiotic supplements at Amazon.com and iHerb and probiotic supplements at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Early Data Suggests Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Is Nearly 95% Effective—And You Can Keep It in the Fridge - Time, 11/16/20 - "On Sunday, an independent monitoring board broke the code to examine 95 infections that were recorded starting two weeks after volunteers’ second dose — and discovered all but five illnesses occurred in participants who got the placebo. ... All 11 severe COVID-19 cases were among placebo recipients, and there were no significant safety concerns ... The main side effects were fatigue, muscle aches and injection-site pain after the vaccine’s second dose, at rates that Hoge characterized as more common than with flu shots but on par with others such as shingles vaccine ... Another steep challenge: distributing doses that must be kept very cold. Both the Moderna and Pfizer shots are frozen but at different temperatures. Moderna announced Monday that once thawed, its doses can last longer in a refrigerator than initially thought, up to 30 days. Pfizer’s shots require long-term storage at ultra-cold temperatures."

Hydroxychloroquine does not help patients hospitalized with COVID-19, study finds - Science Daily, 11/16/20 - "The study showed no evidence that hydroxychloroquine prevented death or helped patients recover from COVID-19 more quickly. One month after starting the study, 10.4% of patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and 10.6% of patients treated with placebo had died"

Side effects often attributed to statins were the same for those taking a placebo - AHA, 11/15/20 - "Study participants who reported side effects from cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins also reported the same side effects when they unknowingly took placebo pills ... These side effects are real, and it appears may be mostly due to the psychological rather than the pharmacological effects of statins since symptoms were consistent when taking the placebo" - [Medscape]

Go (over) easy on the eggs: 'Egg-cess' consumption linked to diabetes - Science Daily, 11/15/20 - "higher long-term egg consumption (greater than 38 grams per day) increased the risk of diabetes among Chinese adults by approximately 25 per cent ... adults who regularly ate a lot of eggs (over 50 grams, or equivalent to one egg, per day) had an increased risk of diabetes by 60 per cent"

Marijuana Raises Post-Op Dangers After Heart Attack - WebMD. 11/10/20 - "Marijuana smokers are more likely to suffer complications like excess bleeding or stroke if they undergo angioplasty to reopen clogged arteries ... Pot smokers who've had a heart attack or needed clogged arteries reopened also are at a greater risk of subsequent heart problems ... Patients were 54% more likely to suffer from potentially dangerous excess bleeding if they had recently smoked pot ... The patients also were 11 times more likely to suffer a stroke after their angioplasty ... 67% of heart attack survivors who used pot had a subsequent heart attack, compared with 41% of nonusers ... Marijuana users also were more likely to land in the hospital for another round of angioplasty or bypass surgery"

Veganism: Vitamin B12 is well supplemented, iodine is a matter of concern - Science Daily, 11/10/20 - "Of those participating (18 women and men respectively per group aged 30-60 years), almost all those following a vegan diet and one third following a mixed diet took different food supplements ... The study results were particularly noteworthy with regard to the trace element iodine. Iodine excretion measured in urine samples provides information on how well the body is supplied with the trace element. The majority of the participants had a deficiency. The deficiency was significantly more pronounced among vegans -- in one third of them, the level was below 20 micrograms per litre (?g/L), the limit defined by the World Health Organization (WHO); anything below this represents a serious shortage. A vegan diet has, however, also shown health benefits, such as a higher fibre intake and lower cholesterol levels. For both diets, about 10% of participants had an iron deficiency" - See iodine at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Abstracts from this week:

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Inversely Associated with COVID-19 Incidence and Disease Severity in Chinese People - J Nutr 2020 Nov 13 - "In the general linear model adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and BMI, serum 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly lower among COVID-19 patients than the 2018-2019 controls [ln transformed values of 3.32 ± 0.04 vs. 3.46 ± 0.022 ln (nmol/L), P = 0.014]. Multivariable logistic regression showed that male sex (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.06, 4.82), advanced age (≥65 y) (OR: 4.93; 95% CI: 1.44, 16.9), and vitamin D deficiency (<30 nmol/L) (OR: 2.72; 95% CI: 1.23, 6.01) were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Lower serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol is associated with depressive symptoms in older adults in Southern Brazil - Nutr J 2020 Nov 14 - "Older adults are one of the most susceptible populations to depression, especially those living in low- and middle-income countries. As well, they are also considering a risk group for vitamin D deficiency. Low serum vitamin D has been associated with an increased risk of brain neuropsychiatry disorders ... Depressive symptoms were present in 15.8% of the participants, and the prevalence was higher in individuals classified as deficient in vitamin D (23.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 15.6;32.9) and insufficiency (17.2, 95%CI = 11.0;25.9). The crude analysis showed that vitamin D deficient participants had 3.08 (CI = 1.53;6.20) times higher odds to present depressive symptoms compared to vitamin D sufficiency. After adjusting, the association was maintained [OR 2.27 (95%CI = 1.05;4.94)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com and iHerb.

High Salt Diet Impacts the Risk of Sarcopenia Associated with Reduction of Skeletal Muscle Performance in the Japanese Population - Nutrients 2020 Nov 12 - "The World Health Organization has recommended 5 g/day as dietary reference intakes for salt. In Japan, the averages for men and women were 11.0 g/day and 9.3 g/day, respectively. Recently, it was reported that amounts of sodium accumulation in skeletal muscles of older people were significantly higher than those in younger people ... Four groups based on age and salt intake ("younger low-salt," "younger high-salt," "older low-salt," and "older high-salt") were compared. Stratifying by age category, body fat percentage significantly increased in high-salt groups in both younger and older people. Handgrip strength/body weight and chair rise tests of the older high-salt group showed significant reduction compared to the older low-salt group. However, there was no significant difference in renalase concentrations in plasma. The results suggest that high-salt intake may lead to fat accumulation and muscle weakness associated with sarcopenia. Therefore, efforts to reduce salt intake may prevent sarcopenia"

A Probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri Alleviates Escherichia coli-Induced Cognitive Impairment and Depression in Mice by Regulating IL-1β Expression and Gut Microbiota - Nutrients 2020 Nov 10 - "Excessive expression of interleukin (IL)-1β in the brain causes depression and cognitive dysfunction. Herein, we investigated the effect of Lactobacillus gasseri NK109, which suppressed IL-1β expression in activated macrophages, on Escherichia coli K1-induced cognitive impairment and depression in mice. Germ-free and specific pathogen-free mice with neuropsychiatric disorders were prepared by oral gavage of K1. NK109 alleviated K1-induced cognition-impaired and depressive behaviors, decreased the expression of IL-1β and populations of NF-κB+/Iba1+ and IL-1R+ cells, and increased the K1-suppressed population of BDNF+/NeuN+ cells in the hippocampus. However, its effects were partially attenuated by celiac vagotomy. NK109 treatment mitigated K1-induced colitis and gut dysbiosis. Tyndallized NK109, even if lysed, alleviated cognitive impairment and depression. In conclusion, NK109 alleviated neuropsychiatric disorders and colitis by modulating IL-1β expression, gut microbiota, and vagus nerve-mediated gut-brain signaling" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Antioxidant effects of N-acetylcysteine on the male reproductive system: A systematic review - Andrologia 2020 Nov 9 - "It is undeniable that N-acetyl cysteine as a powerful antioxidant compound can medicate many diseases such as cardiovascular, kidney, liver and reproductive system disorders. With the increasing environmental pollution that has a direct adverse effect on male fertility, the use of this compound is able to positively function on human fertility health. In this study, we have been collected the main data of scientific articles (1994-2020) about N-acetyl cysteine effects. By searching in the scientific databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Wiley and Web of Science, related articles were extracted. As a result, all observations have confirmed that N-acetyl cysteine can improve and normalise the spermatogenesis in the male reproduction system" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com and iHerb.

J-curve relationship between admission SBP and 2-year cardiovascular mortality in older patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome - J Hyperten 2020 Nov 16 - "SBP quartiles: Q1, less than 120 mmHg; Q2, from 120 to 129 mmHg; Q3, from 130 to 143 mmHg; and Q4, at or above 144 mmHg ... After adjustment for potential confounders, patients in Q1 had higher risk for 2-year cardiovascular death by Cox proportional hazard model compared with patients in Q2 [hazard ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.12-2.21, P = 0.009], whereas patients in Q3 or Q4 exhibited a trend towards increased risk for 2-year cardiovascular death (hazard ratio, 1.33, 95% CI, 0.95-1.86, P = 0.094, for Q3 vs. Q2; and hazard ratio, 1.28, 95% CI, 0.91-1.82, P = 0.160, for Q4 vs. Q2). Meanwhile, when compared with patients in Q1, patients in Q2 had lower risk for 2-year cardiovascular death (hazard ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.45-0.89, P = 0.009) whereas patients in Q3 or Q4 had similar risk for cardiovascular death (hazard ratio, 0.85, 95% CI, 0.63-1.14, P = 0.272, for Q3 vs. Q1; and hazard ratio, 0.82, 95% CI, 0.59-1.13, P = 0.221, for Q4 vs. Q1). However, low-admission SBP was not an independent predictor of 2-year all-cause mortality in this population"

Selected root plant supplementation reduces indices of exercise-induced muscle damage: A systematic review and meta-analysis - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2020 Nov 16 - "This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effects of selected root plants (curcumin, ginseng, ginger and garlic) on markers of muscle damage and muscular performance measures following muscle-damaging protocols. We included 25 studies (parallel and crossover design) with 353 participants and used the PEDro scale to appraise each study ... The meta-analysis showed that the supplemental (SUPP) condition showed significantly lower levels of indirect muscle damage markers (creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and myoglobin) and muscle soreness at 24 hours and 48 hours (p < 0.01) than the placebo (PLA) condition. The inflammatory markers were significantly lower for the SUPP condition than the PLA condition at 24 hours (p = 0.02), although no differences were identified at 48 hours (p = 0.40). There were no significant differences in muscular performance measures between the SUPP and PLA conditions at 24 hours and 48 hours (p > 0.05) post-exercise. According to our qualitative data, a number of studies reported a reduction in oxidative stress (e.g., malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase) with a concomitant upregulation of anti-oxidant status, although other studies showed no effects. Accordingly, selected root plants minimised the level of several biomarkers of muscle damage, inflammation and muscle soreness during periods of exercise-induced muscle damage. However, the benefits of these supplements in ameliorating oxidative stress, increasing anti-oxidant status and accelerating recovery of muscular performance appears equivocal, warranting further research in these outcome measures" - See curcumin at Amazon.com and iHerb, ginseng at Amazon.com and iHerb and garlic supplements at Amazon.com and garlic at iHerb.com.

β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate supplementation in older persons - an update - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2020 Nov 2 - "The interest in the use of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) as an intervention to prevent and treat sarcopenia has increased over recent years ... No new studies have been published over the last 2 years investigating the effect of HMB in older persons who are hospitalized, aside from one posthoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial exploring the effect of a high protein oral nutrition supplement containing HMB on handgrip strength and nutritional status ... Recent data suggest the need for high-quality studies investigating the effectiveness of HMB to improve outcomes related to sarcopenia in both hospitalized and community-dwelling older persons" - See HMB at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Nutrients to mitigate osteosarcopenia: the role of protein, vitamin D and calcium - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2020 Nov 2 - "Osteosarcopenia (the joint loss of bone density and muscle mass and function) is an emerging geriatric syndrome, which associates with poor health outcomes. Several nutrients including protein, vitamin D and calcium interact (directly or through absorption properties) to regulate muscle and bone metabolism ... An adequate intake of protein (1.2-1.5 g/kg/day), vitamin D (800 IU/day) and calcium (1000-1200 mg/day), is well tolerated and effective at mitigating some aspects of osteosarcopenia such as lean mass, bone density and fracture risk" - See

Folate, vitamin B-12, and cognitive function in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study - Am J Clin Nutr 2020 Nov 12 - "There is evidence that low plasma vitamin B-12 and folate individually, as well as an imbalance of high folic acid and low vitamin B-12 status, may be associated with lower cognitive function ... The design is cross-sectional, with 1408 participants from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (mean ± SD age: 57.1 ± 7.9 y) ... Low plasma vitamin B-12 and low plasma folate were each associated with worse cognitive function in this population. Vitamin B-12 deficiency was prevalent and clearly associated with poorer cognitive function. More attention should be given to identification and treatment of vitamin B-12 deficiency in this population" - See Jarrow Formulas Methyl B-12 & Methylfolate + P5P (B6) Lozenges, Cherry, 60 Count at Amazon.com.

Dietary carotenoids related to risk of incident Alzheimer dementia (AD) and brain AD neuropathology: a community-based cohort of older adults - Am J Clin Nutr 2020 Nov 12 - "Studies have reported a protective relation to cognitive decline with long-term intake of total and individual dietary carotenoids ... Among 927 participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project who were free from AD at baseline and were followed up for a mean of 7 y ... Higher intake of total carotenoids was associated with substantially lower hazard of AD after controlling for age, sex, education, ApoE-ε4, participation in cognitively stimulating activities, and physical activity level. Comparing the top and bottom quintiles (median intake: 24.8 compared with 6.7 mg/d) of total carotenoids, the multivariate HR (95% CI) was 0.52 (0.33, 0.81), P-trend < 0.01. A similar association was observed for lutein-zeaxanthin, a weaker linear inverse association was observed for β-carotene, and a marginally significant linear inverse association was found for β-cryptoxanthin. Among the deceased participants, consumers of higher total carotenoids (top compared with bottom tertile, 18.2 compared with 8.2 mg/d) had less global AD pathology (b: -0.10; SE = 0.04; P-trend = 0.01). For individual carotenoids, lutein-zeaxanthin and lycopene were inversely associated with brain global pathology, whereas lutein-zeaxanthin showed additional inverse associations with AD diagnostic score, neuritic plaque severity, and neurofibrillary tangle density and severity" - See mixed carotenoids at Amazon.com.

The effects of curcumin intake on wound healing and metabolic status in patients with diabetic foot ulcer: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Phytother Res 2020 Nov 16 - "This study was conducted to determine the effects of curcumin intake on wound healing and metabolic status in patients with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). The current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted among 60 patients with grade 3 DFU. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups (30 participants each group), received either 80 mg nanocurcumin daily for 12 weeks or placebo ... Curcumin intake significantly decreased fasting plasma glucose (p = .02), insulin (p = .01), insulin resistance (p = .02), and significantly increased insulin sensitivity (p = .008) compared with the placebo. Moreover, curcumin intake led to a significant reduction in total- (p < .001), LDL-cholesterol (p < .001), and a significant increase in total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (p < .001) and total glutathione (GSH) (p = .01) compared with the placebo. However, there was no significant improvement in wound healing parameters. Overall, our study demonstrated that nanocurcumin intake in patients with DFU resulted in a significant improvement of glycemic control, total- and LDL-cholesterol, TAC, and GSH but did not affect the indicators of ulcer size" - See curcumin at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Bergamot phytosome improved visceral fat and plasma lipid profiles in overweight and obese class I subject with mild hypercholesterolemia: A randomized placebo controlled trial - Phytother Res 2020 Nov 13 - "Bergamot has been traditionally used for the relief of diseases related to oxidative stress. Our aim was to investigate the effect of bergamot phytosome on visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and on metabolic profile, in overweight and obese subjects with mild hypercholesterolemia. A total of 64 participants were randomized into two groups for 12 weeks: a supplemented group (33 individuals, BMI 27 ± 3 kg/m2 receiving 500 mg of bergamot phytosome, two daily tablets) and placebo group (31 subjects, BMI 28 ± 3 kg/m2 , two daily tablets) ... this clinical study gives evidence that bergamot phytosome provides beneficial effects, such as decrease of VAT and modulation of metabolic alterations, after just 30 days of supplementation, resulting a very promising protection of cardiovascular health" - See bergamot at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Safety of coffee consumption after myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-analysis - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2020 Jul 23 - "Consumption of coffee was not associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in patients with previous myocardial infarction"

Chlorogenic Acid Alleviates Hyperglycemia-Induced Cardiac Fibrosis through Activation of the NO/cGMP/PKG Pathway in Cardiac Fibroblasts - Mol Nutr Food Res 2020 Nov 17 - "Hyperglycemia-induced cardiac fibrosis is one of the main causes of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DM). Chlorogenic acid (CGA) found in many foods has excellent hypoglycemic effectiveness, but it is not known whether CGA can improve DM by inhibiting cardiac fibrosis caused by hyperglycemia ... Besides lowering blood glucose, CGA also has an independent ability to inhibit cardiac fibrosis. Therefore, long-term consumption of foods rich in CGA for diabetic patients will have great benefits to improve diabetic cardiomyopathy" - See chlorogenic acid at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Autophagy Activation by Resveratrol Reduces Severity of Experimental Rheumatoid Arthritis - Mol Nutr Food Res 2020 Nov 12 - "Previous work reported that dietary supplementation with resveratrol lowers synovial hyperplasia, inflammatory markers and oxidative damage in an antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) model ... Dietary supplementation with resveratrol induces the non-canonical autophagy pathway and limits the cross-talk existence with inflammation, which in consequence modulates the synovial hyperplasia. Preventive strategies that incorporate dietary intervention with resveratrol may offer a potential therapeutic alternative to drugs to influence the risk of RA and influence its course" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com and resveratrol at iHerb.

A U-shaped association between the LDL-cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio and all-cause mortality in elderly hypertensive patients: a prospective cohort study - Lipids Health Dis 2020 Nov 12 - "A total of 6941 hypertensive patients aged 65 years or older who were not treated with lipid-lowering drugs were selected from the Chinese Hypertension Registry for analysis. The endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality ... median follow-up of 1.72 years, 157 all-cause deaths occurred. A U-shaped association was found between the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and all-cause mortality. Patients were divided according to the quintiles of the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. Compared to the reference group (Q3: 1.67-2.10), patients with both lower (Q1 and Q2) and higher (Q4 and Q5) LDL-C/HDL-C ratios had higher all-cause mortality (< 1.67: HR 1.81, 95% CI: 1.08-3.03; ≥2.10: HR 2.00, 95% CI: 1.18-3.39). Compared with the lower and higher LDL-C/HDL-C ratio groups, patients with LDL-C/HDL-C ratios of 1.67-2.10 had a significantly higher survival probability"

Maternal B-vitamin intake and B-vitamin supplementation during pregnancy in relation to neonatal congenital heart defects: a case-control study with propensity score matching - Eur J Clin Nutr 2020 Nov 16 - "conducted a case-control study and included 760 cases and 1600 controls in Shaanxi Province, China. Diet, supplement use and other information were collected through a questionnaire interview. By using the 1:2 ratio PSM method, 396 cases were matched with 792 controls ... Higher maternal dietary and total intake of folate and vitamin B12 were associated with reduced risk of CHDs, and the tests for linear trend were significant. Compared with non-users, maternal FA + VB6 + VB12 containing supplement use during pregnancy (OR 0.61, 95%CI 0.40-0.94), FA supplement use during pregnancy (OR 0.70, 95%CI 0.50-0.98) and in the first trimester (OR 0.62, 95%CI 0.46-0.85) were associated with a lower risk of CHDs." - See B complex supplements at Amazon.com and iHerb.

Effects of cocoa-rich chocolate on cognitive performance in postmenopausal women. A randomised clinical trial - Nutr Neurosci 2020 Nov 15 - "The intervention group (n = 73) consumed daily 10 g of chocolate (99% cocoa) in addition to their usual food intake for 6 months, whereas the control group (n = 67) did not receive any intervention ... The consumption of cocoa-rich (99%) chocolate in addition to the habitual diet could be related to a slight improvement in cognitive performance regarding cognitive flexibility and processing speed in postmenopausal women, with no changes in the rest of the cognitive performance variables evaluated" - See Ghirardelli Chocolate Intense Dark Squares, Midnight Reverie, 4.12 oz., 86% Cacao (Pack of 6) at Amazon.com.

Associations Between Caffeine Consumption, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia: A Systematic Review - J Alzheimers Dis 2020 Nov 4 - "This review suggests that caffeine consumption, especially moderate quantities consumed through coffee or green tea and in women, may reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline, and may ameliorate cognitive decline in cognitively impaired individuals" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com and green tea extract at iHerb.

• Which Single Serve Coffee Machine Makes The Hottest Coffee? - pickandbrew.com - "The recommended brew heat for coffee is between 195-205 degrees and to serve between 153-175 degrees ... Black And Decker Brew N’ Go ... 182 degrees ... Cuisinart SS-10 ... 177 degrees ... Bunn My Cafe MCU Coffee Maker ... 190 degrees ... Keurig 2.0 K575 Series ... 176 degrees ... TouchPlus T526S ... 200-205 degrees ... The TouchPlus doesn’t only heat it up like no other, but it also delivers in quality and taste" - See Touch Plus Single Serve Coffee Brewer T526S at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

My t-shirt of the week design.  Click here for the store.  Click on the shirt to go to that item.

The best workout socks for every type of workout - CNET, 11/13/20 - "While there are a ton of running sock options, I went with the Balega Blister Resist workout sock model because of their affordability and the excellent Amazon reviews. I also know several people who swear by Balega socks, including my mother -- and we all know moms can't lie."

Health Focus (Gallstones):