SUBJ: Exercise significantly improved general cognition
SUBtitle: Dementia less likely if high blood pressure relieved
Happy Mother’s Day!
Links for new readers: 1) Instructions for new subscribers to use this newsletter and website 2) One Day in Roc’s Life: 46 resolutions to prolong health span 3) Recent important nutrition news. 4) A financial contribution to this newsletter is less expensive and better for your health than a multivitamin. Please use this new Link to subscribe to newsletter for $52/year. It will remind you annually to resubscribe. Sorry I am not set up as a non-profit. Donation link to a fund raiser for Nutrition Investigator travel to present research at professional meetings.
SHORT NOTES:
Exercise significantly improved general cognition.
People were 15% less likely to have dementia and cognitive impairment if their high blood pressure was relieved with medication.
The cellular basis for middle-age spread: Distinct adipose progenitor cells emerging with age drive active adipogenesis.
How fasting hits differently in obesity-Obesity perturbs many metabolic processes.
Healthier diets during adulthood were associated reaching age 70 free of cognitive impairments, mental health challenges, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.
The footprints of consciousness reside in sensory regions in the back of the brain that process vision and sound, the posterior cortex
Safety of using red rice yeast depends on quality and dosage.
Ex-supermodel is now a paramedic.
Sunglasses don’t directly cause mental illness. However, light does directly affect our mood.
AARP: 6 supplements are the same six I listed and explored previously that are safe.
LONG NOTES:
From Johan Stausland – Exercise significantly improved general cognition, and this was true across all age groups and exercise modalities. Some of the best cognitive outcomes, for instance, were associated with exercises that place emphasis on complex movement patterns, like yoga, Tai Chi, and exergames.
Science 25 Apr-pg 340-A trial of 34,000 people, people were 15% less likely to have dementia and cognitive impairment if their high blood pressure was relieved with medication. Pg 360-The cellular basis for middle-age spread: Distinct adipose progenitor cells emerging with age drive active adipogenesis. Body fat in humans tends to increase in middle age (approximately 40 to 65 years old), with a preferential expansion of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) around internal organs in the abdominal cavity rather than subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) that is stored just beneath the skin (1, 2). This increase in VAT-selective deposits is linked to declines in insulin sensitivity and a heightened risk of metabolic diseases (3). Total energy expenditure in humans remains relatively stable from ages 20 to 60 years old (4). However, if caloric expenditure is roughly constant, it is unclear how VAT continues to grow with age. On page 378 of this issue, Wang et al. (5) report that a population of adipocyte progenitor cells (APCs) emerges in middle-aged VAT that drives adipogenesis. This APC subpopulation exhibits a high potential for differentiation into adipocytes, which suggests that adipose tissue in middle age is biologically primed for spread. Pg 373 How fasting hits differently in obesity-Obesity perturbs many metabolic processes. Morita et al. constructed a network revealing regulatory relationships between different types of molecules based on omics data collected from the livers of normal and obese mice during food deprivation. The starvation-responsive metabolic network had a similar structure in normal and obese mouse liver. However, the metabolic network in obese mouse liver was wired around different key molecules and showed temporal and pattern disruptions. These defects may help to explain how obesity negates the beneficial effects of intermittent fasting.
Science 1 May pg 486 – DietAnother reason to eat your veggies-As people approach the age of 50, do their dietary choices at this time still affect their physical health by age 70? Tessier et al. collated food frequency questionnaires from more than 100,000 medical professionals across two longitudinal studies. The authors examined their consumption of more than 130 different foods for up to 30 years. They found that healthier diets during adulthood were associated with “healthy aging,” that is, reaching age 70 free of cognitive impairments, mental health challenges, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Higher adherence to plant-based diets, nuts, fruits, and whole grains was associated with healthy aging, supporting current widely accepted dietary recommendations. Nat. Med. (2025) 10.1038/s41591-025-03570-5
A study of consciousness in 256 people in 12 labs showed that the footprints of consciousness reside in sensory regions in the back of the brain that process vision and sound, the posterior cortex. Consciousness does not appear to exist in the front of the brain, where human brains greatly expanded to provide intelligence. It is therefore likely that almost all animals are conscious, even flies.
Safety of using red rice yeast depends on quality and dosage. For a lengthy discussion, read here. I have also added a page on the hazard of using any herbal supplement that you do not make yourself from actual herbs. Here is my general index for herbal supplements. And here is the master index to 1,000+ pages at my nutrition site.
Ex-supermodel is now a paramedic. Israeli ex-supermodel Michaela Bercu featured here previously when she founded the app Tribu, which connects volunteering needs with those who wish to help. She recently completed the Magen David Adom paramedic course, and works two 8-hour shifts a week as a medical orderly.
From RS: Sunglasses don’t directly cause mental illness. However, light does directly affect our mood. If you’ve ever gotten SAD during the dark days of winter, you’re familiar with how a lack of sunshine can lead to acute changes in mood. This seasonal effect is compounded by an excess of blue light from technology. Could a poor light environment, coupled with wearing sunglasses, have led to the demise of Michael Jackson? I believe so.
AARP: 6 supplements that can damage your liver: 80% of older adults take daily supplements. These are the same six I listed and explored previously that are safe when taken properly. But remember many herbal supplements do not contain the ingredients on the label so you may be wasting your money. A great challenge is that even the good supplements that I choose have no immediate effect, except for SAMe. All the rest just have long term benefits, like good health.
