Lower risk of dementia found among people with higher carotenoid levels
National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, May 6 2022.
An article appearing on in Neurology® reported an association between higher levels of several carotenoids and a lower risk of developing Alzheimer disease and other dementias during a 16 to 17-year average period.
Carotenoids are a family of yellow to red plant pigments, including beta-carotene, which have an antioxidant effect.
Participants whose levels of the carot...
Lower risk of dementia found among people with higher carotenoid levels
National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, May 6 2022.
An article appearing on in Neurology® reported an association between higher levels of several carotenoids and a lower risk of developing Alzheimer disease and other dementias during a 16 to 17-year average period.
Carotenoids are a family of yellow to red plant pigments, including beta-carotene, which have an antioxidant effect.
Participants whose levels of the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin were highest were likelier to develop dementia later in life than individuals with lower levels. Among those aged 65 and older upon enrollment, each approximate 15.4 micromole per liter increase in lutein and zeaxanthin was associated with a 7% decrease in dementia risk during follow-up. For beta-cryptoxanthin, each 8.6 micromole per liter increase was associated with a 14% reduction among those older than 45 at the beginning of the study.
“Further studies are needed to test whether adding these antioxidants can help protect the brain from dementia,” Dr Beydoun concluded.
A Mediterranean-style diet decreases the levels of the inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein
University of Bologna (Italy), May 3, 2022
Sticking to a Mediterranean style diet decreases the levels of the inflammatory marker called C-reative protein, linked to ageing, finds the EU funded project NU-AGE. Another positive effect of this diet was that the rate of bone loss in people with osteoporosis was reduced. Other parameters such as insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health, digestive health and quality of life are yet to be analysed.
This is the first project that goes in such depths into the effects of the Mediterranean diet on health of elderly population. We are using the most powerful and advanced techniques including metabolomics, transcriptomics, genomics and the analysis of the gut microbiota to understand what effect, the Mediterranean style diet has on the population of over 65 years old" said prof. Claudio Franceschi, project coordinator from the University of Bologna, Italy.
The project was conducted in five European countries: France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK and involved 1142 participants. There are differences between men and women as well as among participants coming from the different countries. Volunteers from five countries differed in genetics, body composition, compliance to the study, response to diet, blood measurements, cytomegalovirus positivity and inflammatory parameters.
Resveratrol’s blood pressure benefits may pass from mother to child
University of Alberta and University of Adelaide, May 4, 2022
Hereditary hypertension may not pass the generations if the mother is given resveratrol supplements during pregnancy, suggests a new study with lab rats. Offspring of spontaneously hypertensive rats were found to be protected from elevated blood pressure once they reached adulthood if their mothers had received resveratrol supplementation during pregnancy.
“Maternal perinatal resveratrol supplementation prevented the onset of hypertension in adult offspring and nitric oxide synthase inhibition normalized these blood pressure differences, suggesting improved nitric oxide bioavailability underlies the hemodynamic alterations,” wrote the researchers in the journal Hypertension .
The new study supplemented the diets of spontaneously hypertensive female rats with 0 or 4 g/kg diet of resveratrol from gestational day 0.5 until postnatal day 21. The offspring of these rats were then followed to adulthood.
Results showed that the adult offspring had significantly lower blood pressure than their mothers. Additional tests indicated that the potential blood pressure lowering activity observed in the resveratrol-fed animals was not linked to nitric oxide
Krill oil may be beneficial to muscle function and size in healthy people over the age of 65
University of Glasgow (Scotland), May 6, 2022
The study—led by the University of Glasgow's Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences (ICAMS) and published in Clinical Nutrition—found that krill oil supplementation of four grams per day could have beneficial effects on skeletal muscle function and size in this age group.
The research found that healthy adult participants who had received daily krill oil supplementation for six months showed statistically and clinically significant increases in muscle function and size. Krill oil contains high concentrations of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which previous scientific studies have shown are important nutrients for the body as it ages.
The randomized, double blind, controlled trial included 102 men and women all above 65 years of age. The participants were relatively inactive to engaging in less than one hour of self-reported exercise each week on entry to the study.
The study found that participants receiving daily krill oil supplements showed the following improvements (from baseline) at the end of the study:
- Increase in thigh muscle strength (9.3%), grip strength (10.9%) and thigh muscle thickness (3.5%), relative to control group.
- Increase in red blood cell fatty acid profile for EPA 214%, DHA 36% and the omega-3 index 61%, relative to control group.
- Increased M-Wave of 17% (relative to the control group), which shows the excitability of muscle membranes.
New research shows cannabis flower is effective for treating fatigue
University of New Mexico, May 6, 2022
Researchers at The University of New Mexico have used a mobile software app to measure the effects of consuming different types of common and commercially available cannabis flower products on fatigue levels in real-time. As part of the study, researchers showed that over 91 percent of people in the study sample that used cannabis flower to treat fatigue reported symptom improvement.
In their recent study, titled "The Effects of Consuming Cannabis Flower for Treatment of Fatigue," published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, the UNM researchers showed that using cannabis results in immediate improvement for feelings of fatigue in the majority of users. This was the first large-scale study to show that on average, people are likely to experience a 3.5 point improvement of feelings of fatigue on a 0-10 scale after combusting cannabis flower products
The study was based on data from 3,922 cannabis self-administration sessions recorded by 1,224 people. "One of the most surprising outcomes of this study is that cannabis, in general, yielded improvements in symptoms of fatigue, rather than just a subset of products, such as those with higher THC or CBD levels or products characterized as sativa rather than indica," said co-author and Associate Professor Sarah Stith.
"We're excited to see real-world data and studies support the use of cannabinoids for helping individuals manage their fatigue and energy levels," says Tyler Dautrich. "This obviously has implications for patients experiencing fatigue as a symptom of their medical condition, but we also feel this can lead to healthier options to the current energy drink and supplement market."
Study: Coconut oil contains molecules found to be effective against coronavirus
Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines), May 2, 2022
New research out of the Philippines has uncovered yet another potentially viable candidate for treating and preventing the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) without the need for pharmaceuticals or vaccines, and it is lovingly known to many of our readers as coconut oil.
Dr. Fabian M. Dayrit, PhD, from Ateneo de Manila University, along with the help of Dr. Mary T. Newport, MD, from Spring Hill Neonatology in Florida, looked at the known antiviral benefits of coconut oil to see if they may also apply to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).
Lauric acid (C12), along with its derivative monolaurin, has been known for many years to possess natural antiviral activity. A medium-chain fatty acid that comprises about 50 percent of coconut oil’s makeup, lauric acid is widely recognized as a “super” nutrient, as is monolaurin, which is produced by the body’s own enzymes upon ingestion of coconut oil.
These nutrients work in tandem to disintegrate the “envelopes” that surround viruses, and this includes the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). These two nutrients can also inhibit late-stage maturation in the replicative cycle of viruses, as well as prevent the binding of viral proteins to the host cell membrane.
Another antiviral compound found in coconut oil that also plays a protective role is capric acid (C10), along with its derivative monocaprin. Though it only makes up about seven percent of coconut oil, capric acid has shown effectiveness against HIV-1, which is important because evidence has emerged to suggest that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) may contain HIV DNA.
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