Recent Longevity News for the week ending 1/5/22

COVID-19 patients have severely increased levels of oxidative stress and oxidant damage, and glutathione deficiency, study finds - Science Daily, 1/3/22 - "Compared to healthy age-matched individuals whose samples were taken before the pandemic started in 2019, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had significantly increased levels of oxidative stress and oxidant damage, and markedly reduced levels of glutathione ... GlyNAC, a combination of glutathione precursors previously shown to reduce oxidative stress and oxidant damage and increase glutathione as well as improve health indicators such as inflammation, might be beneficial to COVID-19 patients. However, GlyNAC supplementation has not as yet been studied in association with COVID-19 ... Increased oxidative stress and reduced glutathione levels are associated with a number of conditions including aging, diabetes, HIV infection, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular disorders, neurometabolic diseases, obesity and others ... supplementing GlyNAC, a combination of glutathione precursors, improved these defects in all these populations" - Note: NAC has been know for years to increase glutathione. Taking glutathione doesn't work. Amazon and several others have stopped selling NAC. See the article below. I bought about a three year supply from iHerb.  See glycine products at Amazon.com and NAC at iHerb.

• GlyNAC improves multiple defects in aging to boost strength and cognition in older humans - Science Daily, 3/29/21 - "supplementation with GlyNAC -- a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine as precursors of the natural antioxidant glutathione -- could improve many age-associated defects in older humans to improve muscle strength and cognition, and promote healthy aging ... older humans taking GlyNAC for 24 weeks saw improvements in many characteristic defects of aging, including glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, body fat, genomic toxicity, muscle strength, gait speed, exercise capacity and cognitive function. The benefits declined after stopping supplementation for 12 weeks. GlyNAC supplementation was well tolerated during the study period ... Mitochondria generate energy needed for supporting cellular functions by burning fat and sugar from foods, therefore mitochondrial health is critically important for life. Sekhar believes that improving the health of malfunctioning mitochondria in aging is the key ... I am particularly encouraged by the improvements in cognition and muscle strength ... Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are serious medical conditions affecting memory in older people and leading to dementia, and there are no effective solutions for these disorders. We are exploring the possibility that GlyNAC could help with these conditions by conducting two pilot randomized clinical trials to test whether GlyNAC supplementation could improve defects linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease and in MCI, and possibly improve cognitive function."
• GLYNAC (NAC & GLYCINE) 60 x 500mg capsules - youthandearth - "GLYNAC is a powerful precursor to Glutathione consisting of two amino acids NAC (N-acetylcysteine) and Glycine ... Supplementation with GLYNAC has been shown to raise Glutathione levels"
• FDA Requests Information Relevant to the Use of NAC as a Dietary Supplement - fda.gov - "The FDA is asking interested parties to submit such information by January 25, 2022, while the agency continues to evaluate both citizen petitions. The agency will use the information submitted for our analysis and provide a final response to both petitioners directly once we complete our review."
• Ask the Pharmacist: NAC supplements going away soon - marconews.com, 5/17/21 - "Cysteine is a natural compound and N acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a dietary supplement. That’s how you can find it in health food stores, as “NAC.” But you won’t find it for long, so if you want NAC, you should buy it now. It’s already virtually gone from Amazon! ... There’s a disagreement between the Food and Drug Administration and the dietary supplement industry over how legal it is for dietary supplements to put this amino acid into their supplements. The NAC is also available by prescription. It is forcing Amazon and other selling platforms to take sides on the issue."

Choline during pregnancy impacts children’s sustained attention - Science Daily, 1/3/22 - "Choline - found in egg yolks, lean red meat, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts and cruciferous vegetables - is absent from most prenatal vitamins, and more than 90% of expectant mothers consume less than the recommended amount ... One half of these women consumed 480 mg choline per day, which slightly exceeds the recommended adequate intake (AI) level of 450 mg/day. The other half consumed a total intake of 930 mg choline per day, approximately double the AI level ... When tested at 7 years of age, the children of women in the 480 mg/day group showed a decline in accuracy from the beginning to the end of a sustained attention task, while those from the 930 mg/day group maintained a high level of accuracy throughout the task. These findings parallel the effects of maternal choline supplementation and deprivation in rodents, using a closely analogous sustained attention task" - See citicholine at Amazon.com.

Effects of Dapagliflozin in Patients With Kidney Disease, With and Without Heart Failure - Medscape, 1/3/22 - "Dapagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary outcome equally in patients with HF (HR: 0.58 [95% CI: 0.37–0.91]) and without HF (HR: 0.62 [95% CI: 0.51–0.75]) (P interaction = 0.59). The proportional risk-reductions were similar in patients with and without HF for the cardiovascular death/HF hospitalization composite (HR: 0.68 [95% CI: 0.44–1.05] vs HR: 0.70 [95% CI: 0.51–0.97], respectively; P interaction = 0.90), and all-cause death (HR: 0.56 [95% CI: 0.34–0.93] vs HR: 0.73 [95% CI: 0.54–0.97], respectively; P interaction = 0.39), although absolute risk reductions were larger in HF patients. Adverse event rates were low and did not differ among patients with or without HF" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.

Do dreams mean anything? Why do I feel like I’m falling? Or wake up paralyzed? We asked experts - Washington Post, 12/30/21 - "Not being able to move right after waking up is a common phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. While it can be frightening, experts emphasized that the sensation is generally a benign lingering effect of REM sleep, when your muscles are paralyzed, and doesn’t tend to last more than a minute for most people."

Stopping dementia at the nose with combination of rifampicin and resveratrol - Science Daily, 12/29/21 - "Dementia is thought to occur when proteins called amyloid-β, tau, and α-synuclein accumulate in the brain and form oligomers. A research group from the Department of Translational Neuroscience, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, had previously shown in a study using mice that the antibiotic rifampicin removes oligomers from the brain and improves cognitive function. However, the drug has been associated with side effects such as liver damage. Resveratrol, a naturally occurring antioxidant in plants, is used as a supplement in Europe and the United States. "To combat the negative side effects of the existing drug rifampicin, we thought of combining it with the hepatoprotective effects of resveratrol," illustrates Professor Takami Tomiyama, who acted as lead investigator for the current study" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

• Rifampicin - wiki - "Rifampicin, also known as rifampin, is an antibiotic used to treat several types of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium avium complex, leprosy, and Legionnaires’ disease"

Science Reveals How Red Meat Harms the Heart - WebMD, 12/29/21 - "Researchers found that particular gut bacteria, more abundant in red-meat eaters, are key in turning a dietary nutrient called carnitine into a foe: a chemical known as TMAO, which helps promote blood-clotting and clogged arteries ... The traditional suspect was saturated fat, found almost exclusively in animal products. Saturated fat can boost "bad" LDL cholesterol, which contributes to cardiovascular disease ... But, Hazen said, research has shown that any ill effects of saturated fat are not enough to explain the excess heart disease risks linked to heavy red-meat consumption. There had to be other mechanisms ... Hazen, too, said he is a "big supporter" of using diet to change the gut microbiome, rather than adding certain bugs via probiotic supplements ... "Changing your diet changes the soil" that feeds gut microbes ... The researchers also analyzed stool samples from people who took part in the 2019 diet study. They found that when participants were eating a lot of red meat, their stool harbored more of the culprit E. timonensis microbes; when they switched to non-meat protein sources, those microbial levels dropped ... fermented foods like yogurt and kimchi, which contain certain microbes, can be good choices. But again, she stressed, overall diet is what's key in supporting a healthy gut" - What about prebiotics is your goal is to change the soil?

Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation in Early Psychosis - Medscape, 12/29/21 - "While we did not demonstrate a benefit of supplementation over 6 months, these very high rates of vitamin deficiency and insufficiency may have longer-term negative health impacts which we have not measured, so raising awareness of the need to optimize vitamin D in people with psychosis is important" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Ketamine Therapy Is Going Mainstream. Are We Ready? - New Yorker, 12/29/21 - "Ketamine is generally considered safe when used at sufficient intervals, but, when snorted or injected daily for long periods of time, it can cause increased tolerance, cravings, withdrawal, and permanent urinary-tract and kidney damage. It may also affect long- and short-term memory. “You do see these sort of unique personalities that are inclined to it,” Ben Medrano, of Field Trip Health, told me, of the risks of ketamine addiction. “Like, John C. Lilly was an astrophysicist who studied dolphins.” But Medrano was insistent that it’s only “a subset of people who are prone to it.” The government classifies ketamine’s abuse potential as moderate to low. Still, the risk of overuse has long been acknowledged in underground circles. In “The Essential Psychedelic Guide,” published in 1994, the researcher D. M. Turner writes, “A fairly large percentage of those who try Ketamine will consume it non-stop until their supply is exhausted. I’ve seen this in friends I’ve known for many years who are regular psychedelic users and have never before had problems controlling their drug consumption.” Turner died in a bathtub on New Year’s Eve in 1996, apparently having drowned after injecting himself with ketamine"

Omega-3 Supplements Improve Sleep, Mood in Breast Cancer Patients on Hormone Therapy - Medscape, 12/28/21 - "Hormone therapy in patients with breast cancer can lead to mood and sleep disorders. A new randomized controlled trial shows that omega-3 supplementation improves these symptoms. After 4 weeks of treatment, patients who received omega-3 reported better sleep, less depression, and better mood outcomes than those who received placebo ... Omega-3 supplementation has neuroprotective effects and improved brain function and mood in rats, and a 2019 review suggested the evidence is strong enough to warrant clinical studies" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

SGLT2 Inhibitors in Primary Care: 'All Hands on Deck' for Improving Heart Failure Outcomes - Medscape, 12/23/21 - "SGLT2 inhibitors lower blood sugar concentrations by blocking the reabsorption of glucose by the kidneys. They also at least transiently increase urinary sodium excretion which along with a number of other mechanisms may provide benefits in heart failure ... It often takes years for effective new therapies to reach patients after positive results of clinical trials and inclusion in practice guidelines ... If you are seeing a patient with heart failure that is not on an SGLT2 inhibitor, definitely consider starting so long as there are no prevailing contraindications, and keep their specialists in the loop ... Heart failure patients are going to see various generalists and specialists, so the clinician who should be prescribing SGLT2 inhibitors is whoever has the opportunity to do so" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.  They don't carry empagliflozin.

Intermittent Fasting Works, Helps at Least in the Short Term - WebMD, 12/23/21 - "Combined results from a total of 130 clinical trials show that intermittent fasting could help reduce weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat, “bad” cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure, among other risk factors associated with obesity ... Two specific types of intermittent fasting were associated with significant weight loss and other health benefits. One, called modified alternate-day fasting, involves alternating one day of eating as usual with consuming no more than 600 the next day ... The other, called the “5:2 Diet” is similar, but involves 2 days per week of zero or very low-calorie eating and 5 days of normal eating"

College Cannabis Users Report Worsening Depression, Anxiety - Medscape, 12/22/21 - "Nationally, results showed significantly higher PDQ and GAD scores, indicating worse depression and anxiety; and lower FS scores, indicating lower self-esteem among cannabis users vs non-users"

Last Call? Moderate Alcohol's Health Benefits Look Increasingly Doubtful - Medscape, 12/22/21 - "When you look at studies that correct for things like reverse causation, or the fact that some people who drink zero alcohol are former drinkers who used to drink alcohol, then you realize that the protective benefit of alcohol is either minimal or nonexistent and that alcohol does more harm than good to our society"

Abstracts from this week:

Alpha-Ketoglutarate, an Endogenous Metabolite, Extends Lifespan and Compresses Morbidity in Aging Mice - Cell Metab 2020 Sep 1 - "We find that CaAKG promotes a longer, healthier life associated with a decrease in levels of systemic inflammatory cytokines. We propose that induction of IL-10 by dietary AKG suppresses chronic inflammation, leading to health benefits. By simultaneously reducing frailty and enhancing longevity, AKG, at least in the murine model, results in a compression of morbidity" - See alpha ketoglutarate at Amazon.com.

Rejuvant®, a potential life-extending compound formulation with alpha-ketoglutarate and vitamins, conferred an average 8 year reduction in biological aging, after an average of 7 months of use, in the TruAge DNA methylation test - Aging (Albany NY) 2021 Nov 30 - "The search continues for possible interventions that delay and/or reverse biological aging, resulting in extended healthspan and lifespan. Interventions delaying aging in animal models are well established; however, most lack validation in humans. The length of human lifespan makes it impractical to perform survival analysis. Instead, aging biomarkers, such as DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks, have been developed to monitor biological age. Herein we report a retrospective analysis of DNA methylation age in 42 individuals taking Rejuvant®, an alpha-ketoglutarate based formulation, for an average period of 7 months. DNAm testing was performed at baseline and by the end of treatment with Rejuvant® supplementation. Remarkably, individuals showed an average decrease in biological aging of 8 years (p-value=6.538x10-12). Furthermore, the supplementation with Rejuvant® is robust to individual differences, as indicated by the fact that a large majority of participants decreased their biological age. Moreover, we found that Rejuvant® is of additional benefit to chronologically and biologically older individuals. While continued testing, particularly in a placebo-controlled design, is required, the nearly 8-year reversal in the biological age of individuals taking Rejuvant® for 4 to 10 months is noteworthy, making the natural product cocktail an intriguing candidate to affect human aging" - [Nutra USA] - See calcium alpha-ketoglutarate at Amazon.com.

Comparison of Serum Free and Bioavailable 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels in Alzheimer's Disease and Healthy Control Patients - Medscape, 12/29/21 - "Free and bioavailable 25(OH)D detected at lower levels in patients with AD limit the target central effects of 25(OH)D; this result suggests that reduced levels of the active free form of vitamin D may be a risk factor for AD and dementia" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Effects of Memantine and High Dose Vitamin D on Gait in Male APP/PS1 Alzheimer's Disease Mice Following Vitamin D Deprivation - J Alzheimers Dis 2021 Dec 22 - "Vitamin D deprivation led to impaired postural control in the APPswe/PS1dE9 model. Treatment with memantine and vitamin D, but not memantine alone, prevented this impairment" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Omega-3 fatty acid, carotenoid and vitamin E supplementation improves working memory in older adults: A randomised clinical trial - Clin Nutri, 12/6/21 - "Cognitively healthy individuals aged ≥65 years consumed daily 1 g fish oil (of which 430 mg docosahexaenoic acid, 90 mg eicosapentaenoic acid), 22 mg carotenoids (10 mg lutein, 10 mg meso-zeaxanthin, 2 mg zeaxanthin) and 15 mg vitamin E or placebo for 24 months in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial ... Following 24-month supplementation, individuals in the active group (n = 30; aged 69.03 ± 4.41years; 56.7% female) recorded significantly fewer errors in working memory tasks than individuals receiving placebo (n = 30; aged 69.77 ± 3.74 years; 70% female) ... These results support a biologically plausible rationale whereby these nutrients work synergistically, and in a dose-dependent manner, to improve working memory in cognitively healthy older adults. Increasing nutritional intake of carotenoids and ω-3FAs may prove beneficial in reducing cognitive decline and dementia risk in later life" - [Nutra USA] - See docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com, mixed carotenoids at Amazon.com, and vitamin E at Amazon.com.

Urolithin A protects dopaminergic neurons in experimental models of Parkinson's disease by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis through the SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway - Food Funct 2021 Dec 14 - "Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Therapeutic strategies targeting mitochondrial dysfunction hold considerable promise for the treatment of PD. Recent reports have highlighted the protective role of urolithin A (UA), a gut metabolite produced from ellagic acid-containing foods such as pomegranates, berries and walnuts, in several neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease and ischemic stroke ... Our results revealed that UA protected against 6-OHDA cytotoxicity and apoptosis in PC12 cells. Meanwhile, administration of UA to 6-OHDA lesioned mice ameliorated both motor deficits and nigral-striatal dopaminergic neurotoxicity. More important, UA treatment significantly attenuated 6-OHDA-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in PC12 cells accompanied by enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that UA exerts neuroprotective effects by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis via SIRT1-PGC-1α signaling pathway. Taken together, these data provide new insights into the novel role of UA in regulating mitochondrial dysfunction and suggest that UA may have potential therapeutic applications for PD" - See ellagic acid supplement at Amazon.com.

Tannin extract from maritime pine bark exhibits anticancer properties by targeting the epigenetic UHRF1/DNMT1 tandem leading to the re-expression of TP73 - Food Funct 2021 Dec 13 - "Maritime pine bark is a rich source of polyphenolic compounds and is commonly employed as a herbal supplement worldwide. This study was designed to check the potential of maritime pine tannin extract (MPTE) in anticancer therapy and to determine the underlying mechanism of action. Our results showed that MPTE, containing procyanidin oligomers and lanostane type terpenoids, has an inhibitory effect on cancer cell proliferation through cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Treatment with MPTE also induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner in human cancer cell lines (HeLa and U2OS), as evidenced by the enhanced activation of caspase 3 and the cleavage of PARP along with the downregulation of the antiapoptotic protein ... Overall, our results show that maritime pine tannin extract can play a favorable role in cancer treatment, and can be further explored by the pharmaceutical industry" - See pine bard extract at Amazon.com.

γ-Tocotrienol induced the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells through the stimulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway - Food Funct 2021 Dec 15 - "γ-Tocotrienol (γ-T3), an isoprenoid phytochemical, has shown the promotion of osteoblast proliferation and differentiation in our previous study ... Therefore, γ-T3 may be a potential agent to prevent and reverse osteoporosis due to its safety and powerful abilities of osteogenesis" - See gamma-tocotrienol at Amazon.com.

The effect of lactoferrin in aging: role and potential - Food Funct 2021 Dec 20 - "Aging is frequently accompanied by various types of physiological deterioration, which increases the risk of human pathologies. Global public health efforts to increase human lifespan have increasingly focused on lowering the risk of aging-related diseases, such as diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. Dietary intervention is a promising approach to maintaining human health during aging. Lactoferrin (LF) is known for its physiologically pleiotropic properties. Anti-aging interventions of LF have proven to be safe and effective for various pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidation, anti-cellular senescence, anti-inflammation, and anti-carcinogenic. Moreover, LF has a pivotal role in modulating the major signaling pathways that influence the longevity of organisms. Thus, LF is expected to be able to attenuate the process of aging and greatly ameliorate its effects" - See lactoferrin at Amazon.com.

Iron supplementation given to nonanemic infants: neurocognitive functioning at 16 years - Nutr Neurosci 2021 Dec 19 - "There is concern that high iron uptake during the critical period of early brain development carries potential risks, especially for nonanemic infants ... Compared to adolescents in the no-added iron condition in infancy, those in the iron-supplemented condition had poorer visual-motor integration, quantitative reasoning skills, and incurred more errors on neurocognitive tasks. Consuming larger amounts of iron-fortified formula in infancy was associated with lower arithmetic achievement. Of adolescents who had high hemoglobin at 6 months (Hb ≥ 125 g/L), those in the iron supplemented condition had poorer performance on arithmetic, quantitative reasoning, and response inhibition tests than those in the no-added iron condition. Of adolescents who had marginally low 6-month hemoglobin (Hb > 100 and < 110 g/L), those who received no-added iron incurred more errors on a visual searching task than those in the iron-supplemented condition"

 Effects of strawberries on bone biomarkers in pre- and stage 1-hypertensive postmenopausal women: a secondary analysis - Food Funct 2021 Dec 13 - "Postmenopausal women experience an increase in bone remodeling with the rate of bone resorption superseding the rate of bone formation. This results in a net bone loss with a subsequent increased risk for osteoporosis and fractures. High blood pressure (BP) has been associated with loss of bone mineral density and increased propensity to fractures. Strawberries are rich in polyphenols, which have been shown to have anti-hypertensive and bone-protective properties ... Participants (age: 59 ± 6 years; body mass index: 31.5 ± 4.1 kg m-2; systolic BP: 140 ± 13 mmHg) were randomly assigned to consume (1) 50 g of freeze-dried strawberry powder (FDSP), (2) 25 g FDSP + 25 g of placebo powder, or (3) 50 g placebo powder for eight weeks. Results indicate a significant time-by-treatment interaction (P = 0.04) for serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, a hormone that plays a major role in bone formation. Serum concentrations of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, a marker of bone formation, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b, a specific marker of bone resorption, were not affected by FDSP compared to placebo. Although not statistically significant, after eight weeks, osteocalcin increased in the 50 g FDSP group with a large effect size (d = 0.6) when compared to the placebo-control group. Adiponectin increased by 5% and 6% in the 25 g and 50 g FDSP groups, respectively, while it declined in the placebo-control group by 25% (P = 0.03 for time-by-treatment interaction). Our findings suggest that consumption of 25 g FDSP increases IGF-1 in postmenopausal women with pre- and stage 1-hypertension" - See strawberry powder at Amazon.com.

Choline Supplementation Partially Restores Dendrite Structural Complexity in Developing Iron-Deficient Mouse Hippocampal Neurons - J Nutr 2021 Dec 27 - "Early-life choline supplementation, with postnatal iron repletion, improves learning/memory performance in formerly iron-deficient (ID) rats" - See citicholine at Amazon.com.

Prenatal choline supplementation improves child sustained attention: A 7-year follow-up of a randomized controlled feeding trial - FASEB J 2022 Jan - "Numerous rodent studies demonstrate developmental programming of offspring cognition by maternal choline intake, with prenatal choline deprivation causing lasting adverse effects and supplemental choline producing lasting benefits ... Here, we report results from a controlled feeding study in which pregnant women were randomized to consume 480 mg choline/d (approximately the Adequate Intake [AI]) or 930 mg choline/d during the 3rd trimester ... Children in the 930 mg/d group showed superior performance (vs. 480 mg/d group) on the primary endpoint (SAT score, p = .02) and a superior ability to maintain correct signal detections (hits) across the 12-min session (p = .02), indicative of improved sustained attention ... This pattern of results indicates that maternal 3rd trimester consumption of the choline AI for pregnancy (vs. double the AI) produces offspring with a poorer ability to sustain attention-reinforcing concerns that, on average, choline consumption by pregnant women is approximately 70% of the AI" - See

A Specifically Tailored Multistrain Probiotic and Micronutrient Mixture Affects Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-Related Markers in Patients with Obesity after Mini Gastric Bypass Surgery - J Nutr 2021 Nov 22 - "Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is frequent among patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Beyond weight reduction, dietary supplements like micronutrients or probiotics that modify insulin resistance and lipotoxicity can be used to prevent or delay the progression of liver disease ... Patients received a combination of specifically tailored multistrain probiotic powder and a specific micronutrient mixture (Pro+SM) or a control treatment consisting of a placebo and a basic care micronutrient mixture (Con+BM), with some micronutrients in lower doses than SM, for 12 wk after hospital discharge ... Compared with Con+BM, Pro+SM improved serum ASAT (difference: -8.0 U/L, 95% CI: -17.0, -4.0; P = 0.043), NAFLD fibrosis score (difference: -0.39; 95% CI: -0.78, 0; P = 0.048), serum triglycerides (difference: -22.8 mg/dL; 95% CI: -45.6, -0.1; P = 0.049) and the visceral adiposity index (difference: -0.70" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Marginal Zinc Deficiency Alters Essential Fatty Acid Metabolism in Healthy Men - J Nutr 2021 Dec 17 - "A low zinc, high phytate rice-based diet reduced plasma HDL-c concentrations and altered fatty acid profiles in healthy men within 2 wk. Consuming 10 mg Zn/d without phytate for 4 wk did not improve the lipid profiles, but a 25 mg Zn/d supplement corrects these alterations in lipid metabolism within 3 wk" - See zinc supplements at Amazon.com.

Oligofructose-enriched inulin intake, gut microbiome characteristics and the V̇O2peak response to high-intensity interval training in healthy inactive adults - J Nutr 2021 Dec 15 - "The gut microbiome has been associated with cardiorespiratory fitness ... Forty sedentary and apparently healthy adults (n = 31 females; age = 31.8±9.8 years, BMI = 25.9±4.3 kg·m-2) were randomly allocated to: i) six weeks of supervised HIIT (4×4 min bouts at 85-95% HRpeak, interspersed with 3 min of active recovery, 3·week-1) + 12 g·day-1 of FOS-enriched inulin (HIIT-I) or ii) six weeks of supervised HIIT (3·week-1, 4×4 min bouts) + 12 g·day-1 of maltodextrin/placebo (HIIT-P) ... FOS-enriched inulin supplementation did not potentiate HIIT-induced improvements in V̇O2peak, but led to gut microbiome changes possibly associated with greater ventilatory threshold improvements in healthy inactive adults" - See fructo-oligosaccharides supplements at Amazon.com.

Fructooligosaccharides on inflammation, immunomodulation, oxidative stress, and gut immune response: a systematic review - Nutr Rev 2021 Dec 30 - "Studies suggest that FOS supplementation is positively associated with an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect, thus enhancing the gut immune system, which may be beneficial for the host's health" - See fructo-oligosaccharides supplements at Amazon.com.

Effect of Whey Protein Supplementation on Perioperative Outcomes in Patients with Cancer-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Nutr Cancer 2021 Dec 28 - "Whey protein has several biochemical characteristics which make it an ideal nutritional supplement in cancer ... Whey protein supplementation improved the perioperative functional capacity and significantly reduced postoperative complications in patients with cancer" - See whey protein at Amazon.com.

Brain oxidative stress and cognitive function in older adults with diabetes and pre-diabetes who are at risk for dementia - Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2021 Dec 24 - "This study demonstrates that in older adults at risk for dementia, having pre-diabetes or diabetes is associated with impaired memory and executive dysfunction"

L-citrulline ameliorates pathophysiology in a rat model of superimposed preeclampsia - Br J Pharmacol 2021 Dec 22 - "Preeclampsia, characterized by hypertension, proteinuria, and fetal growth restriction, is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality. By far, there is no effective pharmacological therapy for preeclampsia ... This study shows that L-citrulline supplementation reduces gestational hypertension, improves placentation and fetal growth in a rat model of superimposed preeclampsia. L-citrulline supplementation may represent an effective and safe therapeutic strategy for preeclampsia that benefit both the mother and the fetus" - See L-citrulline at Amazon.com.

Protective effects of chlorogenic acid on capillary regression caused by disuse muscle atrophy - Biomed Res 2021;42(6):257-264 - "Inactivity causes muscle atrophy and capillary regression in skeletal muscle. Chlorogenic acid has an antioxidant capacity and may prevent capillary regression ... In conclusion, chlorogenic acid supplementation may qualify as an effective treatment to reduce capillary regression in skeletal muscle caused by disuse muscle atrophy" - See chlorogenic acid at Amazon.com.

Chlorogenic acid delays the progression of Parkinson's disease via autophagy induction in Caenorhabditis elegans - Nutr Neurosci 2021 Dec 19 - "Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a polyphenolic substance derived from various medicinal plants. Although CGA is reported to have potential anti-PD effect, the beneficial effect and the underlying mechanism remain unclear ... ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) ... CGA significantly reduced α-synuclein aggregation, improved motor disorders, restored lipid content, and decreased ROS and MDA contents in NL5901 nematodes. Meanwhile, CGA inhibited DA neuron-degeneration and improved food-sensing behavior in 6-OHDA-exposed BZ555 nematodes. In addition, CGA increased the number of GFP::LGG-1 foci in DA2123 nematodes and degraded p62 protein in BC12921 nematodes. Meanwhile, CGA up-regulated the expression of autophagy-related genes in NL5901 nematodes. Moreover, the anti-PD effect of CGA was closely related to autophagy induction via increasing the expression of autophagy-related genes, including unc-51, bec-1, vps-34, and lgg-1" - See chlorogenic acid at Amazon.com.

Antidepressant actions of melatonin and melatonin receptor agonist: Focus on pathophysiology and treatment - Behav Brain Res 2021 Dec 17 - "Depression has become one of the most commonly prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders, and the main characteristics of depression are sleep disorders and melatonin secretion disorders caused by circadian rhythm disorders. Abnormal endogenous melatonin alterations can contribute to the occurrence and development of depression ... The present review summarizes the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of melatonin, which is related to its functions in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inhibition of neuroinflammation, inhibition of oxidative stress, alleviation of autophagy, and upregulation of neurotrophic, promotion of neuroplasticity and upregulation of the levels of neurotransmitters, etc. Also, melatonin receptor agonists, such as agomelatine, ramelteon, piromelatine, tasimelteon, and GW117, have received considerable critical attention and are highly implicated in treating depression and comorbid disorders. This review focuses on melatonin and various melatonin receptor agonists in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression, aiming to provide further insight into the pathogenesis of depression and explore potential targets for novel agent development" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Use of Tribulus terrestris and Lepidium meyenii extract in rats: reproductive, biochemical and body parameters - Andrologia 2021 Dec 28 - "It is concluded that the association of T. terrestris and L. meyenii has positive effects on serum testosterone, sperm concentration and epididymal morphology, with no evidence of effects in the testis, liver, spleen and kidneys" - See Tribulus terrestris at Amazon.com and Maca extract at Amazon.com.

Ultrasonic testicular size of 24,440 adult Vietnamese men and the correlation with age and hormonal profiles - Andrologia 2021 Dec 28 - "Hypogonadal men and unexplained infertile men had significantly smaller testicular sizes compared with healthy fathers ... Testicular size of Vietnamese men was negatively correlated with LH and FSH (Rho = -0.16 and -0.33, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with testosterone after adjusting for confounding factors"

Association between intake of sodium, potassium, sodium-to-potassium ratio, and blood pressure among US adults - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2021 Dec 22 - "High dietary sodium and low potassium intake is associated with high blood pressure (BP). The current study aimed to determine if the sodium-to-potassium ratio is more strongly associated with low (130-139/80-89 mm Hg) and high (≥140/90 mm Hg) BP thresholds among US adults than either sodium or potassium alone ... The study confirms an inverse association between higher potassium intake and higher BP threshold. The Doses-response analyses showed sodium-to-potassium ratio is a better predictor of BP thresholds than sodium or potassium alone" - See potassium citrate at Amazon.com.

Serum Potassium Levels of 4.5 to Less Than 5.0 mmol/L Are Associated with Better Vascular Function - J Atheroscler Thromb 2021 Dec 23 - "Serum potassium levels of 4.5-＜5.0 mmol/L are associated with better vascular function regardless of the presence or absence of treatment with drugs that could alter serum potassium levels" - Note: That's the higher third of normal. Mine is at 4.5 so maybe I should increase it a little. See potassium citrate at Amazon.com.

trans 10, cis 12, but Not cis 9, trans 11 Conjugated Linoleic Acid Isomer Enhances Exercise Endurance by Increasing Oxidative Skeletal Muscle Fiber Type via Toll-like Receptor 4 Signaling in Mice - J Agric Food Chem 2021 Dec 29 - "Together, these findings showed that t10, c12, but not c9, t11-CLA isomer enhances exercise endurance by increasing oxidative skeletal muscle fiber type via TLR4 signaling" - See conjugated linoleic acid at Amazon.com.

Aerobic Training Reduces Pancreatic Fat Content and Improves β-cell Function: A Randomized Controlled Trial Using IDEAL-IQ Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Diabetes Metab Res Rev 2021 Dec 28 - "Six months of moderate-intensity aerobic training significantly reduced the pancreatic fat content. The reduction of pancreatic fat content was an independent protective factor for β-cell function and HbA1c"

Quercetin attenuates the cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide regimen and potentiates its chemotherapeutic effect against triple-negative breast cancer - Phytother Res 2021 Dec 23 - "Doxorubicin combined with cyclophosphamide (AC) is the most commonly used regimen for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) chemotherapy; however, its clinical application is severely limited by its serious adverse effect on cardiomyocytes. The cardiotoxicity of AC is mainly the result of oxidative stress caused by the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, and it also involves multiple signaling pathways. Quercetin (Que) has been proven to possess strong antioxidant activity, and therefore we investigated whether it had potential protective effect against AC-induced cardiotoxicity ... Que could enhance the antitumor activity of AC by inhibiting ROS accumulation and ERK1/2 pathway in TNBC cells. In addition, our in vivo studies further confirmed that Que could enhance the chemotherapeutic effect of AC against TNBC while it reduced the injury of cardiotoxicity induced by AC. Therefore, Que could be used as a novel agent for the treatment of cardiotoxicity induced by AC regimen in TNBC chemotherapy" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Antiinflammatory and antiinfective effect of caffeine in a mouse model of disseminated salmonellosis - Phytother Res 2021 Dec 15 - "Caffeine has been reported for its antiinflammatory properties by stimulating phagocytosis. In this study, we investigated the antiinflammatory and antiinfective potential of caffeine in murine macrophage cell cultures and Swiss mice infected with virulent Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium ... We can conclude that caffeine has both antiinflammatory and antiinfective properties that can be useful for management of bacterial infections along with antibiotics"

Pomegranate Extract Improves Colitis in IL-10 Knockout Mice fed a High Fat High Sucrose Diet - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Dec 21 - "Our data demonstrated that dietary PomX supplementation ameliorated colitis and lowered inflammatory markers in HFHS fed IL10-/- mice. These data support the anti-inflammatory effects of dietary PomX supplementation for IBD and a potential mediating role of gut microbiome, suggesting the need for future clinical studies to explore the use of PomX dietary supplementation in IBD patients" - See pomegranate extract at Amazon.com.

Cardiorespiratory and metabolic fitness indicators in novice volleyball trainees: effect of 1-week antioxidant supplementation with N-acetyl-cysteine/zinc/vitamin C - J Int Med Res 2021 Dec;49(12) - "This study aimed to determine the effect of 7-day dietary supplementation of N-acetylcysteine (NAC)/zinc/vitamin C on the time-to-exhaustion (TTE), the cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) index, and metabolic indicators ... This study enrolled volleyball student trainees (n = 18 men) who took NAC/zinc/vitamin C (750 mg/5 mg/100 mg) for 7 days ... Supplementation improved the TTE and CRF index, and lowered cytochrome c, C-reactive protein, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), total cholesterol, insulin, and glycated hemoglobin values" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com, zinc supplements at Amazon.com and vitamin C products at Amazon.com.

Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists, and Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors, and Risk of Hospitalization - Am J Cardiol 2021 Dec 19 - "SGLT2i was associated with substantially lower risk of myocardial infarction and heart failure hospitalization compared with DPP4i and lower risk of heart failure hospitalization compared with GLP-1RA" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.

Relation of Cannabis Use to Elevated Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score - Am J Cardiol 2021 Dec 17 - "atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk (ASCVD) score ... Ever cannabis use was associated with 60% increased odds of high-risk ASCVD score (odds ratio [OR] 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.60 [1.04 to 2.45], p = 0.03). We also observed a dose-response relation between increased use of cannabis and a higher risk of ASCVD. Those reporting ≥2 uses per month had 79% increased odds of high-risk ASCVD score (OR [95% CI] 1.79 [1.10 to 2.92], p = 0.02) and those reporting ≥1 use per day had 87% increased odds of high-risk ASCVD score (OR [95% CI] 1.87 [1.16 to 3.01], p <0.001]. In conclusion, cannabis use is associated with elevated CVD risk. Individuals using cannabis should be screened for CVD risk, and appropriate risk reduction strategies should be implemented"

Association of E-Cigarettes With Erectile Dysfunction: The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study - Am J Prev Med 2022 Jan - "The use of ENDS seems to be associated with erectile dysfunction independent of age, cardiovascular disease, and other risk factors. While ENDS remain under evaluation for harm reduction and smoking-cessation potential, ENDS users should be informed about the possible association between ENDS use and erectile dysfunction"

Iron supplementation given to nonanemic infants: neurocognitive functioning at 16 years - Nutr Neurosci 2021 Dec 19 - "Compared to adolescents in the no-added iron condition in infancy, those in the iron-supplemented condition had poorer visual-motor integration, quantitative reasoning skills, and incurred more errors on neurocognitive tasks. Consuming larger amounts of iron-fortified formula in infancy was associated with lower arithmetic achievement. Of adolescents who had high hemoglobin at 6 months (Hb ≥ 125 g/L), those in the iron supplemented condition had poorer performance on arithmetic, quantitative reasoning, and response inhibition tests than those in the no-added iron condition. Of adolescents who had marginally low 6-month hemoglobin (Hb > 100 and < 110 g/L), those who received no-added iron incurred more errors on a visual searching task than those in the iron-supplemented condition"

Therapeutic Benefits of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplementation in Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review - J Diet Suppl 2021 Dec 23 - "Elevated oxidative stress is a common denominator between pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and diabetes complications, prompting the use of antioxidant compounds in diabetes therapy. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), has been investigated for its role as a potent antioxidant in diabetes treatment and the results from clinical trials indicate improved glucose metabolism, reduced oxidative stress, improved endothelial dysfunction, a decline in platelet reactivity and moderate improvements to weight loss yet conflicting data regarding insulin metabolism. ALA inhibits nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB), chelates divalent transient metal ions and induces the expression of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)" - See alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com.

SGLT2 inhibitor counteracts NLRP3 inflammasome via tubular metabolite itaconate in fibrosis kidney - FASEB J 2022 Jan;36 - "Large clinical trials and real-world studies have demonstrated that the beneficial effects of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on renal outcomes regardless of the presence of diabetes. However, the mechanism remains obscure. Here, we analyze the anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects of dapagliflozin, a SGLT2 inhibitor, on renal alternations using the ischemia/reperfusion-induced fibrosis model ... Our results identify a novel mechanism coupling metabolism and inflammation for kidney benefits of SGLT2 inhibition in progressive chronic kidney disease" - See

Dihydromyricetin Improves Cognitive Impairments in d-Galactose-Induced Aging Mice through Regulating Oxidative Stress and Inhibition of Acetylcholinesterase - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Dec 21 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with phenomena of cognitive impairments. Oxidative stress and cholinergic system dysfunction are two widely studied pathogenesis of AD. Dihydromyricetin (DMY) is a natural dihydroflavonol with many bioactivities ... DMY alleviates the cognitive impairments in d-gal-induced aging mice partly through regulating oxidative stress and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase" - See dihydromyricetin at Amazon.com.

Probiotic Releasing Angiotensin (1-7) in a Drosophila Model of Alzheimer's Disease Produces Sex-Specific Effects on Cognitive Function - J Alzheimers Dis 2021 Dec 15 - "While extensive research on the brain has failed to identify effective therapies, using probiotics to target the gut microbiome has shown therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's disease (AD)"

Serum carnitine as a biomarker of sarcopenia and nutritional status in preoperative gastrointestinal cancer patients - J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2021 Dec 22 - "Sarcopenia is an important factor in the postoperative outcome of gastrointestinal cancer patients ... One hundred fourteen patients scheduled to undergo gastroenterological surgery between August 2016 and January 2017 were enrolled. Their mean age was 68.4 ± 10.5, and 64.9% were male. Serum carnitine fractions [total carnitine (TC), free l-carnitine (FC), and acylcarnitine (AC)] were measured prior to surgery ... This study suggests that carnitine level is a biomarker of sarcopenia and nutritional status" - See l-carnitine at Amazon.com.

Mulberry leaf polysaccharides ameliorate obesity through activation of brown adipose tissue and modulation of the gut microbiota in high-fat diet fed mice - Food Funct 2021 Dec 24 - "Improving energy homeostasis and the gut microbiota is a promising strategy to improve obesity and related metabolic disorders. Mulberry leaf is one of the traditional Chinese medicines and functional diets. In this work, a mouse model induced by high-fat diet (HFD) was used to reveal the role of mulberry leaf polysaccharides (MLP). It was found that MLP had a significant effect in limiting body weight gain (reduced by 19.95%, 35.47% and 52.46%, respectively), ameliorating hepatic steatosis and regulating lipid metabolism in HFD induced obese mice (P < 0.05). RT-PCR and western blot analysis suggested that these metabolic improvements were mediated by inducing the development of brown-like adipocytes in inguinal white adipose tissue and enhancing brown adipose tissue activity. Besides, 16S rRNA sequencing results led to the inference that MLP could mitigate the composition and function of the gut microbiota. Together, these findings indicated that MLP possess great potential as a diet supplement or medication for obesity" - See mulberry leaf extract at Amazon.com and PGX at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

The wife has this bright idea that she wants to be a YouTuber and asked me how to do it this morning before she left for work. This is my first take using Logi Capture. It's a free download. Google it. The camera is the Logitech Brio 4K Webcam at Amazon.

I'm noticing a lot of snake oil YouTube vloggers. Of three that come to mind, one is a chiropractor, another is a female doctor pushing things like ivermectin and another is a nurse with a PhD implying he's a medical doctor. They post a new video and get a quarter million views in just eight hours. I don't know where they get their information from but it's different than what I'm reading. Seems like too many people think there's something magic. Like one video that was just posted claiming ridiculous benefits of taking cold showers. Makes me wonder if I should start vlogging but the truth doesn't sell. Look at Fox, OAN and Newsmax. I'm not left or right, I'm in the center but I don't like misinformation no matter where it comes from. I can get somewhat political and not worry about losing subscribers because I don't make any money anyway. Late month I made $13 through Amazon but it cost twice that to host the site. That said, while doing every newsletter, I learn something important worth bookmarking on my website and that makes it worth it.

I bought one of these on a Black Friday sale for $64 and I’m happy I did. I see so many places with a setup for photography that has a light in the background that just screws up the camera light meter and the subjects come out underexposed. Even if you compensate, the background becomes over-exposed. If you use the flash the skin tones become washed out. It might work for the photographer with strobes but usually, they have the strops set too high and the skin tones are still too harsh. Why can’t they just set up one of these $64 lights and everyone including the photographer could benefit. Neewer Ring Light Kit at Amazon.com.

Withings' Body Scan scale can measure the composition of different parts of your body - Engadget, 1/4/22 - "The handle allows safe, low-level electrical signals to pass through your entire body, not just your feet — much as you may have seen on some advanced gym scales. To start with, that enables a new 6-lead ECG that can detect heart arrhythmias via two sets of electrodes on each side of the handle and one within the base of the sale. That compares to a single lead on smartwatches, so the Body Scan can deliver more specific results "that can easily be ready by a cardiologist," said Letombe ... An embedded algorithm can detect heart patterns associated with atrial fibrillation, showing the results on the display or Withings' Health Mate app. Those can be stored to show trends or "shared with medical professionals from the app," according to Withings. "Each time you weigh yourself, the scale can deliver that information, thanks to the new handle." ... It uses multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to measure whole-body fat and water percentage, visceral fat, muscle and bone mass and extracellular and intracellular water. It can even provide readings for individual body parts, including your torso, arms and legs. All of that allows you to spot things used by health experts and sports professionals like dangerous localized fat or muscle imbalance, Withings said ... It's expected to cost $300 when it arrives to the US and Europe in the second half of 2022 following FDA clearance"

Health Focus (Abdominal fat):