SUBJ: Aug Nutrition notes to extend healthspan from Roc, Nutrition investigator
Sorry there is so much this month. But it’s August, so I hope you have time to relax-meditation and yoga benefits below!
I hope you got my email about longevity research. Here’s a reader’s question: How do you see substantially increased lifespans playing out Roc, what sort of time frame do you envisage until some of the trials you mentioned come to fruition? ANSWER: Decades ago I drafted a chapter about a long-life world. A career might last 20 years, then you retire for 5, go back to school for 5 (to keep professors like me employed), and repeat. To control world population, one would be made long lived but sterile before puberty, and could only have a child after stopping longevity treatments. It would have to be a Brave New World police state for this to be enforced.
….. Timeline? I guess within 10 years there will be expensive treatments that have been tested enough to be useful – the Science trial costs $8,000 for one treatment now. Staying healthy that way, in 20 yrs there may be genetic manipulations for complete rejuvenation, so that you can select your physiological age. By then you’ll also be able to select all the characteristics of a child, from eye color to IQ. Much of this is frightening. But at least some people are recognizing it and considering regulation. It seems only leaders like Hillary Clinton and Rush Holt have the courage to say “I believe in science.” If the US population cannot accept global warming, then their elected officials will only suppress education and intelligence, and leave it to the rest of the world to deal with reality.
Scientific American Mind Sept/Oct ’16 – Regular exercise improves our health, brain power, and energy level, and pg. 72 explains why physiologically; Misnaming the most familiar people in our life is a common cognitive glitch based on how our memories work; Spanking predicts negative behavior changes. There are no studies showing that kids improve as a result spanking. It leads to increased aggression, behavioral and mental health problems, and reduced cognitive ability and self-esteem; Overly permissive parenting may lead to the same problems. A style in the middle, authoritative, is best; Laugh lots, live longer – high humor scores led to 48% lower risk of death, 73% lower heart disease, 83% lower infection rates; Only half of US citizens vote, the worst level of all developed nations; Work smarter, work happier – a happier, less stressed worker is a more successful one. IQ is not as important, our social brain, the capacity to manage people, is the most powerful component of human intelligence; Working from home really benefits companies. A study of 249 employees found that those who worked from home were 13% more productive and saved the company $1,900 annually per person. If 25% of employees telecommuted just 50% of the time, it would save the US $900 billion a year; Job satisfaction increases up to 15 hrs a week telecommuting; A CEO did not want pain medications for the rest of his life after a serious accident, and turned to yoga and mindfulness meditation. It is now encouraged for all of his employees, lowering stress and increasing productivity 47-62 min/employee/week; The rise of social media has made us the most connected society to date, but has coincided with a decline in our mental health. Teens may be particularly vulnerable to hypertexting, leading to depression.
Summer LPI newsletter Dr. Arup Indra – there is a lot of evidence that vitamin C has a role in healthy skin. I can tell you that not enough work has been done, probably due to lack of funding. Mice make vitamin C naturally, but those who consumed extra vitamin C took longer to develop skin cancer and had fewer lesions when they did; How various health risk terms are calculated – For smoking, lifetime risk of lung cancer is 15.9% for smokers, 0.2% for non-smokers. The relative risk for smokers is 15.9/0.2 = 79.5%, So, men have a 79.5% higher relative risk to develop lung cancer if they smoke compared to men who never smoked. For calculating relative risk, one has to have an estimate for the absolute risk in the population, which is often unavailable. In that case, epidemiologists calculate the odds ratio—what is the ratio of the odds that an exposed person develops the disease versus the odds that a nonexposed person develops the disease. In our example, the odds ratio of developing lung cancer when comparing current male smokers to those who never smoked is [15.9/(100-15.9)]/[0.2/(100-0.20)] = 94.3%. So, men have 94.3% greater odds to develop lung cancer if they smoke compared to never having smoked.
Two studies showing the value of exercise for sleep and psychophysical health in the “elderly.” 1) Surveying the effects of an exercise program on the sleep quality of elderly males-The study showed effectiveness of scheduled exercising on the quality of sleep of the elderly. It is recommended, therefore, to add an exercise program to the daily program of the elderly. 2) An 8-week adapted physical activity intervention program with two training sessions/week is able to improve psychophysical heath in elderly people. During the aging process, a dynamic lifestyle, including regular physical activity, is a crucial factor for public and health care systems to improve QOL and physical fitness in aging people.
Two research articles indicating low Coenzyme Q10 levels are associated with fatigue. But CoQ10 supplements are also hazardous if you are not on statins. 1) Fatigue is often described by patients as a lack of energy, mental or physical tiredness, diminished endurance, and prolonged recovery after physical activity. Etiologic mechanisms underlying fatigue are not well understood; however, fatigue is a hallmark symptom of mitochondrial disease, making mitochondrial dysfunction a putative biological mechanism for fatigue. Low levels of Coenzyme Q10 were consistently associated with fatigue. 2) Etiologic mechanisms underlying the symptom of fatigue are not well understood. This review investigates the association of mitochondrial dysfunction with fatigue. Dysfunctional levels were reported in all the studies investigating carnitine; however, the specific type of carnitine that was dysfunctional varied.
Only 1/3 of women are regularly fully aroused during intercourse. The female orgasm may be an evolutionary holdover.
The Economist reports the average US adult consumes 12 sweetened drinks, 3-6 servings of nuts,6-8 servings of whole grains, 6-8 whole fruits, and 9-12 servings of vegetables per week; Mayo Clinic reports only 2.7% of Americans have a healthy lifestyle. Half of Americans claimed ignorance of what to eat to get good nutrition. Just obesity and preventable chronic disease cost $147-210 billion a year in the US.
Here is a potential drug to reduce autoimmunity without suppressing useful immune functions. A pharmacological inhibitor of a kinase, ROCK2, decreased autoimmunity T cells, without interfering with other immune cells. Since this molecule is a pharmacological inhibitor, it is probably a commercially available drug. The report states “unlike a general immunosuppressant, this one was specific and ameliorated disease severity of lupus in a mouse model.” It might be worth investigating for autoimmune symptoms.
Readers’ suggestions: 1. I came across this article in the NY Times when visiting there (New York) recently. thought you might be interested. It is what I have contended for years about nutrition research. A useful article concluding: As for Dr. Kramer, he has not given up on rigorous research. What is needed at this point, he says, is a little more humility among researchers in interpreting and reporting the implications of their own evidence. NY Times: We’re So Confused: The Problems With Food and Exercise Studies
2. ProjectKnow: Nutrition in Addiction Recovery
3. We appreciate you taking the time to share our Newsletter (inquire at Food Matters ) with your friends 🙂 Stay tuned as we continue to share more natural health tips and delicious juicing and cooking recipes to help keep you on your health journey!
– Roc, Nutrition Investigator
*To be added or removed from the nutrition research Email List . *To review the disclaimer*To ask Roc a question. http://chemistry.beloit.edu/Ordman/
Is there anything more exciting in life than seeking answers? Isaac Asimov
