SUBJ: Take care of your feet as you age

SUBtitle: These three simple lifestyle changes can add years to people’s lives

Want a zoom speaker? A live one in Rockford/Madison area? Send an email to rocordman@gmail.com.

Please consider enrolling in my supplement aging study. See below.

With so many new readers, here is the primary link I recommend: 46steps to slow aging. Other useful links: nutritionconsensus.org/products; whyweage;  Key word search command;   how your friends can get this newsletter

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SHORT NOTES:

Whenever I take a shower, I am pleased that I can wash and then dry between  my toes and trim my toenails.

These three simple lifestyle changes can add years to people’s lives (Leana S. Wen) 1. Hearing aids-. 2. Exercise- 3. Social connection

Reader comment: is Serrapeptidase useful. There are side effects. With a doctor’s supervision, it might be useful.

Here is a long GRG discussion about whether or not fatty15 is as promising as I originally thought.  I have not had time to consider it yet, though I take it daily.

See enrollment below for my Aging and Supplement study.

LONG NOTES:

Whenever I take a shower, I am pleased that I can wash and then dry between  my toes and trim my toenails.  I was a caregiver for several years after retiring. What I noticed of all my clients was that their feet were horrid. Toes gnarled, toe nails long and curled. I concluded that the first thing to go as one ages is the ability to care for feet.

From a kind reader: These three simple lifestyle changes can add years to people’s lives (Leana S. Wen) 1. Hearing aids-As many as 40 million Americans suffer some degree of hearing loss. Difficulty hearing not only poses challenges for work interactions and relationships, but it also presents a myriad of physical and mental health problems. 2. Exercise-A recent review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that people who followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation for 150 minutes a week of moderate- or high-intensity activity reduced their risk of heart disease and stroke by 27 percent. It also reduced their risk of cancer by 12 percent and premature death by 31 percent. Just seventy-five minutes a week — or about 11 minutes a day — brought about a 17 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease, a 7 percent decrease in cancer risk and 23 percent lower chance of early death. 3. Social connection-A 2021 Harvard study concluded that more than 1 in 3 Americans were experiencing “serious loneliness.” According to research cited by the CDC, social isolation increases the risk of heart disease by 29 percent and dementia by 50 percent. Isolation increases risk of premature death as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Reader comment: Serrapeptidase useful? In my essay on dementias, I explained that Mito-C is designed to prevent protein misfolding, reducing the risk for and progression of dementias. A reader suggested that serrapeptidase might also be useful to prevent protein misfolding.  I investigated, and that enzyme appears potentially useful for various medical conditions. But it is a general protein degrading enzyme, rather than specifically for protein misfolding.  There are side effects. With a doctor’s supervision, it might be useful.

Here is a long GRG discussion about whether or not fatty15 is as promising as I originally thought.  I have not had time to consider it yet, though I take it daily.

Uncertain about the benefit of C15:0 fatty15: Regarding C15:0 Fatty15, I would like to point out that the authors of the paper are affiliated with the company which is, unsurprisingly, the only supplier of that supplement. The paper has been fast tracked to publishing in a low impact factor journal. If you look at citations, there’s very little supporting research to prove those claims, and there has been no external validation. That’s quite the number of red flags. If it seems too good to be true, it likely is.   I am a (night owl) toxicologist interested in how aging and  anti-aging agents affect   Heme Oxygenase-1.  HO-1 is the Universal Stress Enzyme found in all mammals that  breaks non-oxygenated heme proteins into equal amounts of ferritin, bilirubin,  carbon monoxide, and 3 times as much hot water. Pentadecanic acid, aka C15:0, is a (relatively rare) potent inhibitor of HO-1.  This study in Nature shows it lowered  bilirubin and ferritin a lot.  No mention of CO levels that they apparently didn’t measure but which presumably also went down.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64960-y#MOESM1

Here is the twist for men seeking to live better longer.  The greater longevity of women is associated with their having a  more active HO response to stressors as they age past 65 vs men. And among  both men and women, those with allele  in HMOX1 gene that makes the most reactive form of HO1 live the longest. So I doubt that an HO1 inhibitor is going  to help men live longer.   But it does reduce anemia and the inflammation associated with chronic anemia.

I agree with your conclusion. Another reason: Inhibition of HO-1 can lead to possible inhibition of NAD+ which is considered highly beneficial as we age. Here is the pathway:  Nrf2 to HO-1 to NQO1: https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1033315

NQO1 to NAD+:

https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(15)56221-2/fulltext

https://www.nature.com/articles/cddis2014255

So if C15:0 is a potent inhibitor of HO-1 that may not necessarily be all good.

Dear Readers,

I have long asked the GRG manager to do a study to determine what supplement and activity factors might contribute to longer healthspan.  My personal answers are revealed at my website.  But I would like to do a study based on people who read my newsletter.  I have stated that I read years ago, that people who read about nutrition weekly, will live much longer than those who ignore new information. So this is an effort to find out.

 

If you are willing to participate, be assured that all the information you provide will be absolutely confidential.  Each participant will be assigned a number so they can look at the results of the study.  First, below, I have a number of personal questions about your activities.  A guesstimate is just fine.  Then, once a year, I will send you an email just to check on how you are doing.  If enough people participate, I might gather sufficient data to make some information-based hypotheses. Here is the questionnaire:

 

Participant number: (I will assign this when you respond)

Please fill in the blanks

  1. Age:____
  2. Weight (lbs):_____
  3. BMI (can calculate here):_____
  4. Amount of exercise you usually get:
  5. 30 minutes three days a week.   ____about that. _____some but less than that. ______almost none
  6. Intensity of exercise: ____makes me breathe hard ______ can talk with someone easily while doing it
  7. How often do you stand up when awake: ______at least once an hour ______ less than once an hour
  8. How is your current health:
    1. _____(yes/no) taking medications (if yes, see below)
    2. ______(no or type of device) Use support (e.g. cane, walker, cpap, etc.)
    3. ______(no or condition) Serious medical conditions like cancer, diabetes:
  9. _______Estimate of how long. you expect to live (like I say past 130):
  10. List the supplements you take (include name of supplement, dosage, and when you take them:

 

Please email answers to 1-7 to rocordman@gmail.com. SUBJECT:my study answers.  Participants will get the link to the ongoing study.  All information displayed is anonymous.

 

I sent my answers in a previous email.

Thanks, Roc “Nutrition investigator”