SUBJ: Always healthy!

SUBtitle: An anti-inflammatory diet can significantly reduce the risk of dementia

Links for new readers:  1) One Day in Roc’s Life: 46 resolutions to prolong health span   2) Recent important nutrition news.  3) A contribution to this newsletter is healthier and less expensive than your multivitamin. Donation link:Nutrition Newsletter

Coming soon. Analysis of the new and improved Mito-C formulation.

See past newsletters here       Sponsor newsletter here

SHORT NOTES:

Best catchphrase for goal of research on healthspan: Always healthy!

An anti-inflammatory diet can significantly reduce the risk of dementia and delay its onset even in people with existing cardiometabolic diseases. Although latest research indicates we may be able to significantly reverse Alzheimer’s one day.

White adipose tissue is an organ in its own right, functioning not only as an energy storage source but as a regulator of metabolism [1]. If this function is impaired, adipose tissue moves towards the central abdomen.

A polyphenol-rich natural extract positively impacts lifespan, healthspan, and cellular senescence.

Niacin supplementation started in midlife increases median and maximal lifespan in female mice and boosts healthspan in males, equivalent to a human dose of about 3 grams for an average human

Stopping mitochondrial aging could contribute to the eradication of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

FATTY 15 supports liver health.

AARP: 25 Foods to Skip After Age 50:  (This list was distressing, as I eat a lot of these things, but only occasionally, not often. Reading the details explains why and suggests alternatives. Main concerns are added salt and sugar.)

LONG NOTES:

GRG Best catchphrase for goal of research on healthspan: Always healthy!

 

A new study suggests that an anti-inflammatory diet can significantly reduce the risk of dementia and delay its onset even in people with existing cardiometabolic diseases [1].  That was the question that an international group of researchers from the US, Sweden, and China set out to answer in a new study. The study was based on UK Biobank, a treasure trove of health data on hundreds of thousands of British citizens. The researchers built a sample of more than 80,000 adults over 60 who were dementia-free at baseline and were followed up for periods up to 15 years, with a median period of 12.4 years. Several times over the course of the follow-up, the participants filled out an elaborate food questionnaire. This allowed the researchers to calculate a dietary inflammation score based on the reported intake of 31 ingredients. Inflammation is known to play a major role both in cardiometabolic diseases and in dementia. During follow-up, close to 1,600 participants (1.9%) developed dementia. The presence of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) was predictably associated with a massive 81% increase in dementia risk. However, an anti-inflammatory diet mitigated this risk significantly: participants with CMDs who consumed an anti-inflammatory diet had a 31% lower risk of dementia compared to similar people who consumed a pro-inflammatory diet. Moreover, a pro-inflammatory diet increased the risk of dementia even in people without CMDs. In people who eventually developed dementia, an anti-inflammatory diet seemed to delay its onset by as much two years.

NPR Science Friday: The latest research indicates we may be able to significantly reverse Alzheimer’s one day. An experiment with mitochondria, the energy factories ofcells, showed that reactivating mitochondria in brain cells with Alzheimer’s reactivated them so they could function normally, despite plaque and tangles associated with ALZ.

 

A new study published in Aging Cell has detailed what happens to individual fat cells in white adipose tissue (WAT). Previous research has described WAT as an organ in its own right, functioning not only as an energy storage source but as a regulator of metabolism [1]. If this function is impaired, adipose tissue moves towards the central abdomen [2]; causes fats to accumulate in other tissues, which leads to insulin resistance [3]; and leads to low-level chronic inflammation [4]. Like many other declines in function, this is related to aging. Cellular senescence [5], a lack of stem cell progenitors [6], and infiltration of immune cells into tissues [7] have all been pinpointed as potential causes.  This experiment drew samples from ten people who were at least 65 and ten more under the age of 30. Despite having similar metrics in insulin sensitivity and body mass, the older group had higher systolic blood pressure, greater waist circumference, and worse cholesterol measurements.

 

According to a new study, a polyphenol-rich natural extract positively impacts lifespan, healthspan, and cellular senescence. These results were observed in both cell culture and a mouse model [1] Traditional and folk medicines offer many botanical extracts that can be tested by modern science for their medicinal properties and influences on aging. One such plant is the Bolivian prawn sage (Salvia haenkei). Salvia haenkei is a fast growing perennial plant with aromatic leaves and upright stems of red, prawn-like flowers. It is native to Bolivia and southern Peru and is found in the seasonally dry tropical environment of those countries. This study’s authors had previously screened botanical extracts and discovered that an extract from Salvia haenkei delays cellular senescence in human cell cultures [2]. The extract is called Haenkenium (HK). In this study, the authors administered HK to the drinking water of 20-month-old mice until the ends of their lives. The mice that consumed HK lived longer than the control group: a median lifespan of 32.25 months compared to 28 months.

 

A new preprint from David Sinclair’s lab has discovered that NMN supplementation started in midlife increases median and maximal lifespan in female mice and boosts healthspan in males [1]. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a ubiquitous metabolite that performs several crucial roles. NAD’s oxidized version, NAD+, participates in energy production, facilitates DNA repair, and serves as a co-substrate for many enzymes, such as sirtuins, the family of proteins linked to longevity.  In this new study, coming from the Harvard laboratory of the prominent geroscientist David Sinclair and currently under review by the journal Cell, mice of both sexes received NMN in their food starting at 13 months of age (roughly 40 in human years). The chosen daily dose was 550 mg/kg. Using a popular conversion formula based on body surface, this is equivalent to a human dose of 44 mg/kg, or about 3 grams for an average human.  Both male and female mice in the study group had lower frailty scores later in life. Males experienced less vision loss, maintained fur color and had better breathing rates compared to controls. Females enjoyed better coat condition and less kyphosis. The same group of researchers recently developed a mouse biological age clock based on frailty metrics. “Application of these tools to the male mice at 21 months,” the researchers wrote, “showed the NMN-treated mice had lower predicted age, indicating lower biological age, and higher predicted remaining lifespan than untreated mice.” Methylation clocks, a more widely accepted metric of biological age, however, did not show a significant effect of NMN.  While the frailty-based clock showed lower biological age in male mice, the treatment did not translate into longer lifespan in this subgroup. It did, however, in female mice, extending median lifespan by 8.5% and maximal lifespan (measured at 90% mortality) by 7.9%. Many compounds tested for lifespan extension in mice have sex-specific effects, and the reasons for that are not clear yet.  Both male and female mice in the study group had lower frailty scores later in life. Males experienced less vision loss, maintained fur color and had better breathing rates compared to controls. Females enjoyed better coat condition and less kyphosis.  The same group of researchers recently developed a mouse biological age clock based on frailty metrics. “Application of these tools to the male mice at 21 months,” the researchers wrote, “showed the NMN-treated mice had lower predicted age, indicating lower biological age, and higher predicted remaining lifespan than untreated mice.” Methylation clocks, a more widely accepted metric of biological age, however, did not show a significant effect of NMN. While the frailty-based clock showed lower biological age in male mice, the treatment did not translate into longer lifespan in this subgroup. It did, however, in female mice, extending median lifespan by 8.5% and maximal lifespan (measured at 90% mortality) by 7.9%. Many compounds tested for lifespan extension in mice have sex-specific effects, and the reasons for that are not clear yet. In another interesting finding, NMN caused changes in the microbiome. In particular, it increased the abundance of Anaerotruncus colihominis, a bacterial species that has been linked to lower neuroinflammation and is enriched in centenarians. This might explain some of NMN’s beneficial effects. However, the authors admit that “the mechanism of lifespan extension in female mice with NMN remains unclear.” It is also unclear why life extension was only observed in female mice, although the researchers did detect certain sex-related differences in NMN metabolism that might account for that.

 

Israel’s Dr. Linda Rubinstein moved from NASA to Sheba Medical Center and from Outer Space research to Inner space research. Her work focuses on mitochondria (the cell’s powerhouse). Stopping it from aging could contribute to the eradication of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

 

A randomized, double-blinded and placebo controlled clinical trial, recently published in the Journal of Nutrition, has added further support that many of us have a nutritional C15:0 deficiency called Cellular Fragility Syndrome. More importantly? Fatty15 can help fix it.  FATTY 15 also supports liver health.

 

AARP: 25 Foods to Skip After Age 50:  (This list was distressing, as I eat a lot of these things, but only occasionally, not often. Reading the details explains why and suggests alternatives. Main concerns are added salt and sugar.) 1. Sweetened yogurts, 2. Ramen, 3. Deli meats, 4. Instant oatmeal packs (and other sugary cereals), 5. French fries, 6. Canned fruit, particularly with added sugar, 7. Frozen pizzas, 8. Canned soups, 9. Microwavable flavored premade rice, 10. “Healthy” veggie chips, 10. “Healthy” veggie chips, 12. Processed cheeses, 13. Canned veggies, 15. Bottled pasta sauces, 16. Granola and protein bars, 17. Bottled salad dressing, 18. Premade marinades for meat/fish/other proteins, 19. Cookie and cake mixes, 20. Alcoholic beverages-Because alcohol metabolism changes as we age, it can increase the risk of falls, interact with medications, interfere with sleep and risk dehydration (because our ability to detect thirst declines as we age), 21. Sweetened bottled teas, 22. Sodas, both sugary and artificially sweetened, 23. Fruit juice, particularly sweetened, 24. Fancy coffee drinks, 25. Sports drinks.