J Nutrition August, 2010 –See this, longer synopses, and links to published articles below or at Nutrition investigator .
SUMMARY – No easy answers. Even caloric restriction and green tea, both heralded for extending life and healthspan, have negative aspects, dampening your immune system. But there’s lots of benefit from good nutrition. Phytochemicals from green tea, broccoli, etc. reduce your lung cancer risk. Vitamin E decreases fat deposition. Leucine (from branched chain amino acid supplements) stimulates skeletal muscle growth. Vitamin A regulates immunity. A high fiber diet reduces heart disease risk . CLAs (in milk fat) reduce inflammation from arthritis. And folate helps to reduce hearing loss. The only hazard noted in this issue of the Journal of Nutrtion is that a high fat diet harms your heart function.
If you are in the northern hemisphere, I hope you are eating lots of vegetables from a bountiful garden.
Sincerely, Roc – Nutrition Investigator
SYNOPSES OF ARTICLES THIS MONTH
1. Caloric restriction weakens your immune response – A hallmark of energy restriction (ER) is a decrease in total body fat, which is thought to increase lifespan and maintain immune function. However, we have shown that during primary influenza infection, ER induces rapid weight loss, impairs natural killer (NK) cell function, and increases mortality in young and aged mice.
2. EGCG (green tea) inhibits your immune response – Previously, we demonstrated that in vitro epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) supplementation inhibited T cell response in mouse spleen cells. In summary, EGCG directly inhibits T cell proliferative response.
3. How phytochemicals from green tea, broccoli, etc. reduce your lung cancer risk.
4. Leucine (from branched chain amino acid supplements) stimulates skeletal muscle growth – In pigs, other branched chain amino acids do not.
5. Vitamin E decreases fat deposition – Mitochondrial Vitamin E decreases oxidative stress and fat deposition.
6. How Vitamin A regulates immunity – Vitamin A has been long associated with immune system competence. Vitamin A deficiency is known to compromise many aspects of both innate and adaptive immune responses.
7. High fiber diet reduces heart disease risk – Insoluble fiber is best, and reduces risk about 52%.
8. CLAs (in milk fat) reduce inflammation from arthritis – Dietary conjugated linoleic acid [(CLA), an equal mixture of cis-9, trans-11 (c9t11) and trans-10, cis-12 (t10c12) CLA isomers], was found to reduce inflammation in the murine collagen antibody-induced arthritis model
9. Get folate to reduce hearing loss – Elevated total serum homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations associated with vitamin B-12 or folate deficiencies may adversely affect blood flow to the cochlea, leading to age-related hearing loss. Low serum folate levels increased the odds of prevalent mild hearing loss(presbycusis).
10. A high fat diet harms your heart function – A high-lipid diet (HLD) may lead to adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling and endothelial dysfunction in conditions of hemodynamic stress.
11. Sea Buckthorn oil attentuates dry eye – This syndrome occurs in about 14% of people over age 40. An oral supplement reduces the symptoms.
*To review the disclaimer. *To ask Nutrition Investigator (Roc) a question.
“the ability to wish or imagine that we can be better is notable. No other species aspires to be more than it is.”???-Michael Gazzaniga
